Ex-India PM cleared of corruption

A former Indian prime minister has been acquitted of cheating a British Indian pickle millionaire.

PV Narasimha Rao, of the opposition Congress Party, was let off along with two others by a court in Delhi.

Mr Rao was accused of cheating pickle millionaire Lakhubai Pathak of nearly $100,000 over a contract to supply newsprint and paper pulp 20 years ago.

The 83-year-old Mr Rao, who was prime minister between 1991 and 1996, has always maintained his innocence.

The judge in Delhi said that Mr Pathak, who has since died, had kept changing his testimony and that it was contradictory.

Following his acquittal, a lawyer for Mr Rao said he had been waiting for this day for eight years.

Mr Rao always said the case was politically motivated. He was acquitted in March this year in a separate case involving allegations of vote buying.