A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has acquitted two men in a 5-year-old murder case, holding that the prosecution could not prove any of the circumstances necessary for conviction based on circumstantial evidence, reported news agency PTI.

In his order of June 19, a copy of which was made available on Friday, Additional Sessions Judge A N Sirsikar gave relief to Rahul Bharat Bhise (36) and Datta Bhujang Misal (39), who had been in judicial custody since their arrest soon after the crime, reported PTI.

The body of one Sagar Das with injuries was recovered in the Kashimira area in Thane district on September 28, 2019. The prosecution relied on circumstantial evidence, arguing that Bhise and Misal were last seen with him as the three had liquor the previous night. The victim's bloodstained clothes were recovered from the house of Bhise, it said, reported PTI.