Ballia (UP): On Friday, the court acquitted 19 people, including Samajwadi Party leader and ex-Uttar Pradesh minister Narad Rai, of impeding traffic in a case that dates back 13 years due to a lack of evidence.
From 2002 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2017, Rai represented Ballia in the state legislature. The prosecution claims that on April 2, 2010, then-in-charge of the Ballia Kotwali police station Prabhakar Tiwari filed a case against 19 people, including Rai, for allegedly impeding traffic. At the district headquarters, the accused allegedly led a march while chanting anti-state government rhetoric and impeding traffic. After hearing the arguments of both sides, the court of Additional Judicial Magistrate Tapasya Tripathi acquitted the 19 defendants, including Rai, on Friday, according to Advocate Tribhuvan Nath Yadav. —Inputs from Agencies