KOLKATA: A city civil court acquitted veteran CPI (Maoist) leader Gour Chakraborty, jailed since 2009, of all charges after the prosecution failed to prove them. City Sessions Court Judge Bench II Kum Kum Singha acquitted Chakraborty of all charges after they could not be proved in court, Chakraborty's counsel S Roy said.
Besides other charges, 70-year-old Chakraborty was framed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA Section 20 after his arrest in June 2009 after the Centre's declared the Maoist outfit as a 'banned' group.
Chakraborty, the first over-ground spokesperson of CPI (Maoist) in Bengal, hails from Nadia district and was associated with Maoist politics since his youth. Known for his active role during the Lalgarh movement, Chakraborty united the urban support bases for the tribal agitation in Jangalmahal.
On June 23, 2009, the police arrested Chakraborty from a television channel's Park Street office in the city. Chakraborty was the first Maoist charged with UAPA.