Dhanbad judge death case: CBI forms new team after court criticised ‘laxity’ in investigation
The Jharkhand High had said last month that CBI has not been able to give a plausible explanation about the events leading to Judge Uttam Anand’s death.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday put in place a new team for inquiry into the alleged murder case of Dhanbad judge Uttam Anand, PTI reported.
Last month, the Jharkhand High Court had pulled up the investigation agency for “laxity” in the probe. The court had said that the CBI has filed multiple reports, but has not given a plausible explanation about the events leading up to the judge’s alleged killing.
Judge Anand died on July 28 in Dhanbad after a three-wheeler ran over him. CCTV camera footage of the incident showed the vehicle suddenly swerving towards the 49-year-old judge, who was walking on an empty road, and hitting him.
The CBI had taken over the case from the Jharkhand Police on August 4.
In a chargesheet filed in October, the accused two men, an autorickshaw driver Lakhan Verma and his assistant Rahul Verma, in the incident. Both of them were arrested after being booked under Sections 302 (murder), 201 (disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information) and 34 (criminal acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
The new team of CBI will be headed by Superintendent of Police Vikas Kumar, who is currently posted at the agency’s Special Crime Unit in Delhi. He has already taken over the case from VK Shukla who was earlier leading the investigation, according to PTI.
The new team has asked the Jharkhand High Court for permission to question the two accused who are lodged in a district jail, CBI officials told the news agency.
Before his death, Judge Anand had been hearing the murder case of Ranjay Singh, who was a close confidante of former Jharia MLA Sanjiv Singh. The judge had also denied bail to Ravi Thakur, a protégé of Uttar Pradesh shooters Abhinav Singh and Aman Singh, just three days before his death.