Varun Gandhi acquitted in second hate speech case

 LUCKNOW: A Pilibhit court on Tuesday acquitted BJP leader and Pilibhit MP Varun Gandhi in the second hate speech case registered against him in the run-up to 2009 Lok Sabha polls. He was acquitted in the first case on February 27. In the both the cases, Varun was acquitted for the want of evidence. The two cases were lodged against Varun in March 2009 during campaign for the Lok Sabha elections after he allegedly made inflammatory speeches.
In 2009, the first FIR against Varun was lodged on March 17, 2009 at Barkhera police station and the second one a day later in Dal Chand for allegedly making speeches with communal overtones. He was charged under India Penal Code and Representation of People Act for promoting enmity among people and supporting acts prejudicial to communal harmony by making inflammatory speeches.The third FIR was lodged against Varun on charges of instigating violence on March 28, 2009, when his supporters attacked police and indulged in violence after the court remanded him in judicial custody.
However, now the acquittal in the two cases has come as a big relief for the BJP leader, who now has only one case against him. The court acquitted the Pilibhit MP on the basis of eyewitness accounts and a report of Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh, which concluded that video CD of the alleged 'hate speech' had been 'doctored'. Also, most of the eyewitnesses produced the police either turned hostile or testified in Varun's favour.
After acquittal, Varun in a press statement said "I have always reposed my faith in the judiciary and welcome the decision. I thank people who stood by me in crisis".