Deepak Bhardwaj murder case: Son Nitesh, others acquitted by Delhi court

A Delhi court has acquitted Nitesh Bhardwaj and others in a case of allegedly killing his billionaire father and BSP functionary Deepak Bhardwaj in 2013.

Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora acquitted Nitesh and the other accused - Baljeet Singh, Rakesh, Purshottam Rana, Sunil Singh alias Sunil Mann, Amit Mann, Machindernath Namdev alias Swami Pratibhanand and Ramesh Kumari -- citing lack of evidence, the court sources said.

A copy of the judgment, passed last month, however, was not available.

Nitesh, Deepak Bhardwaj's younger son, was arrested in April 2013 for allegedly giving a Rs 5 crore contract for the murder of his father, who had been gunned down at a Delhi farmhouse the previous month.

It was alleged that Nitesh, who was estranged from his father, feared losing his family's wealth and resented his father's growing fondness for a young woman.

According to reports, Bhardwaj had contested the West Delhi Lok Sabha seat in 2009 and was the richest candidate in the general election.

Police had also recovered two country-made pistols from a canal in Rohtak which were allegedly used to murder Bhardwaj.

Sources said the desire to set up an 'ashram' of his own prompted Pratimanand, a self-styled guru, to allegedly take up the contract to kill Bhardwaj.