Updated on Friday, December 05, 2008, 00:00 IST

New Delhi, Dec 05: A local court on Friday acquitted alleged gangster Fazal-ur Rehman of the charges of abducting a city-based businessman 14-year ago.

Additional Sessions Judge Brijesh Kumar Garg absolved the jailed sharp-shooter of underworld don Babloo Srivastava of the charges of kidnapping city-based businessman Kanwaljeet Singh from Patiala House Courts here in September, 1994.

The court said the prosecution failed to provide concrete evidence against the gangster except a disclosure statement of a co-accused having no value under the statute.

Singh, a city-resident who had visited the Patiala House Courts complex in September 1994 in his car, was allegedly kidnapped by the accused and taken to Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh with an aim to extort Rs 35 lakh from his family.

Besides Rehman, others accused in the case Jameel Khan, Atiq Khan, Changej Khan and Israr Khan have been declared as proclaimed offenders.

Two other co-accused Wasim and Narayan Singh had already been acquitted by the court last year for want of evidence.

The trial against Rehman, who went absconding after his bail in 1994, was started in 2006 following his arrest from Sanouli at the Indo-Nepal border.

The victim was allegedly kept in confinement for about 22 days and was threatened by the accused.

An FIR under various provisions of the IPC, dealing with illegal confinement and kidnapping for ransom, was lodged by mother of the victim Joginder Kaur at Tilak Marg police station here on September 23, 1994.

The court, which acquitted Rehman, could not supply the copy of judgement due to strike by the staff.

Bureau Report