India, May 20 -- A Delhi court has acquitted 12 men accused of murdering a man during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, citing the prosecution's failure to identify the perpetrators or establish their role in the killing.

The accused were tried for the murder of Aamir Khan, whose body was recovered from the Bhagirathi drain in Gokulpuri on 27 February 2020. A postmortem examination had revealed 25 injuries on his body.

In a detailed order delivered on May 13, additional sessions judge (ASJ) Pulastya Pramachala of the Karkardooma courts held that the prosecution had failed to prove that the accused were part of the mob that killed Khan.

"Unless it is shown that there was a mob, which killed Aamir, and unless the identity of members of the...