A Lucknow CBI court has acquitted underworld don Bablu Srivastava in a kidnapping case that dates back nearly 20 years, handing him a major legal reprieve.

The case centred on the abduction of the owner of Hotel Lington, a property in Kolkata. The allegation was not just that a kidnapping took place, but that Srivastava orchestrated it while locked up. Prosecutors claimed he was in Naini Jail in Prayagraj and still controlled his gang from inside the prison walls, and that he had planned the entire abduction from his cell.

That was the core of the prosecution’s case. If the CBI could prove that Srivastava was directing the crime from jail, it would have tied him directly to the plot. The court, however, concluded that this link was never established.

Where the prosecution fell short

The CBI’s position was that Srivastava was the mastermind behind the abduction. The agency needed to show that he was actively running the gang from Naini Jail. According to the court’s findings, that was not proved.

The CBI could not establish that Bablu Srivastava was operating his gang from Naini Jail while he was in custody.

That gap proved decisive. Without evidence tying the jail to the operation, the allegation that he masterminded the kidnapping from behind bars did not hold up in court.

The defence case

Srivastava was represented by advocate Zishan Alvi, who presented arguments on his behalf before the court. After hearing those submissions, the court said it was satisfied and ordered that Srivastava be acquitted of the charges in the case.

The verdict means the case, which had been pending for about two decades, ends in his favour. The reports available do not detail the specific evidence the defence used to challenge the prosecution’s claims, beyond the central point that the CBI failed to prove the jail-based control allegation.

Why this case matters

Srivastava’s name has long been tied to organised crime in Uttar Pradesh, and the allegation that a man in custody could still direct a criminal network from prison has always drawn attention. The acquittal shows how much weight courts place on proof, particularly when the central claim is that someone behind bars was still running operations outside.

For the victim and the investigators, the outcome closes a chapter that stretched across roughly 20 years. For Srivastava, it removes one of the serious criminal allegations hanging over him in this matter.