All 22 accused in the 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram Prajapati encounter killing were acquitted today by a court in Mumbai, which said the witnesses and evidence was not satisfactory to prove conspiracy and murder. A Special CBI judge said the circumstantial evidence was not substantial. The accused were mostly police officers from Gujarat and Rajasthan. The Central Bureau of Investigation, which probed the case, said the murders were a result of conspiracy for political and financial gains. Of the 38 people charged, 16 people - including BJP chief Amit Shah, former top cop DG Vanzara and other police officers -- were discharged. Ninety-two prosecution witnesses had turned hostile.
