MEERUT, May 14 -- A fast-track court in Muzaffarnagar has acquitted 11 accused in a case linked to the 2013 riots, citing a lack of evidence to substantiate the charges, additional district government counsel (ADGC) Narendra Sharma said on Tuesday.

The verdict, delivered by Judge Neha Garg on May 6, marks another chapter in the ongoing legal proceedings in one of Uttar Pradesh's deadliest communal clashes, which reportedly claimed over 60 lives and displaced thousands.

Those acquitted -- Subhash, Papan, Manvir, Vinod, Pramod, Narender, Ram Kishan, Ramkumar, Mohit, Vijay, and Rajender -- were charged under sections 395 (dacoity) and 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house) of the Indian Penal Code. The c...