A special NIA court at Dantewada has acquitted tribal activist Soni Sori and three others in a case filed against them by the Chhattisgarh Police in 2011 for alleged channelizing of ‘protection money’ to Naxalites.
Special Judge (NIA Act) Vinod Kumar Dewangan passed the order on March 14.
Besides Sori, the court also acquitted her activist nephew Lingaram Kodopi, construction contractor B.K. Lala and then Essar company official D.V.C.S. Verma, citing that the prosecution has failed to prove the charges against the accused.
Therefore, in the absence of corroborative evidence, the accused are acquitted, the court said in a 76-page order.
Sori and Kodopi were arrested on charges of acting as Maoist conduits and allegedly receiving "protection money" for the rebels from the Essar company.
They were booked under the Indian Penal Code sections 124 (A) (sedition), 121 (waging or attempting to wage war against government) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act.