LAHORE: A local court in Lahore on Wednesday acquitted Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s son-in-law, Ali Imran Yousaf, in a case over the torture of a bakery employee in Lahore, DawnNews reported.

The court said the complainant and victim of the Defence bakery torture case had told a judicial magistrate that Yousaf and his Elite Force guards were not involved in the torture.

Imran had earlier been granted bail and released on Oct 19 last year after he turned himself in, facing charges over the bakery employee's torture.

He was accused of ordering his private security guards to torture the bakery employee.

The incident had taken place in the T-Block market of Lahore's Defence Housing Authority in Lahore on Oct 7, 2012.

On Nov 6, 2012, the Defence B investigation police had submitted challans of Yousaf, seven policemen and a private guard to a Cantonment court in connection with the case.

They were declared guilty in the police investigation.

Later on Dec 22, 2012, the complainant and victim had told a judicial magistrate that Yousaf and his Elite Force guards were not their accused.

Complainant Muhammad Umar and victim Irfan in their statements had stated that the nominated accused in the FIR, including Yousaf and others, were not the real culprits. Irfan had added that nobody had kidnapped him nor did he recognise the persons who beat him up.

However, he had stated that the nominated accused (Elite police personnel) were not those who had tortured him.