PESHAWAR, Dec 11: A local court on Wednesday acquitted the husband and brother-in-law of a woman charged with burning her to death.

The court of the additional district and sessions judge, Shehbar Khan, observed that the prosecution could not prove its case against Mehboor and Farhad. No evidence could be produced which could connect them with the commission of the offence, the court observed.

Shaheen Bibi had received burn injuries on July 2, 1997, at her residence in the provincial metropolis in the Mera Kachori area and died.

Later, her brother Bashir Khan, registered a report with the Urmar police station, charging her husband, Mehboor, and brother-in-law, Farhad, of killing her.

Advocate Ishtiaq Ibraheem appeared for the accused and argued that they were falsely implicated in the case. He argued that initially the accused-defendants were not charged in the case and it was termed an accident.

However, he added, Bashir Khan charged them later on in his statement under section 161 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

During pendency of the trial the complainant party had filed an application before the Peshawar High Court, praying that the case should be transferred from the present court as they had no confidence over the presiding officer.

The presiding officer in his comments in the high court claimed that the complainant party had approached him through another additional district and sessions judge, but he refused to oblige them and informed them that he would decide the case on merit.