A local court in Model Town Complex Lahore on Thursday acquitted singer Rabi Pirzada for keeping exotic animals as pets.

Singer Rabi Pirzada appeared in the court at Model Court Complex and requested acquittal in the case filed by the Punjab Wildlife Department against her.

Judicial Magistrate Haris Siddiqui heard the case wherein Barrister Hassan Khalid Ranjha, counsel for the singer, argued that there was no role of his client in the case. “The Punjab Wildlife Department initiated the case first and obtained search warrants later, which clearly reflected the malafide intentions on the part of the wildlife officials.”

Mr Ranjha requested the court that his client has been implicated in the case as a result of “personal vendetta” and that she should be acquitted of the charges.

The Wildlife Department has already submitted a detailed report of the search warrants. The Punjab Wildlife Protection and Parks Department had filed a case against Rabi Pirzada on charges of keeping wild animals, including four pythons, an alligator and snakes as pets.

The wildlife protection department said the singer had violated the Wildlife Act, which prohibits keeping exotic animals such as alligators, snakes, pythons and other reptiles as pets.