On Sunday (August 8), a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team recreated the suspicious ‘road accident’ that led to the death of the Jharkhand Aditional District Judge (ADJ) Uttam Anand. The Judge was hit by a three-wheeler at 5:00 am on July 28 and was declared dead on arrival at the Dhanbad Medical College.
As per reports, the CBI team reached the crime scene at 5 am on Sunday with the autorickshaw that was involved in the accident. The two accused, namely, Lakhand Verma and his associate Rahul Verma were also present at the Randhir Verma Chowk, the site of the accident. The ‘crime scene recreation’ and ‘digital mapping of occurence’ were also done earlier on Saturday by the CBI team along with the Central Forensic Science Lab (CFSL) experts.
During the ‘recreation process, the CBI team made the driver and his aide seat inside the autorickshaw and recreated how he had knocked the judge on the ground. The CFSL team, equipped with speed scanner machines, recorded the speed of the vehicle at the time of the accident and the speed at which it escaped after hitting the judge. They also collected ‘blood-soaked clay’ from the crime scene. A senior police official informed that this would help the CBI to understand how the incident took place.
The central agency has been investigating the case since August 4 after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Jharkhand police failed to conclude whether the death of Judge Uttam Anand was an accident or murder. The 20-member CBI team, investigating the case, is led by ASP Vijay Kumar Shukla. It must be mentioned that the SIT was constituted on the orders of the Jharkhand High Court. The accused were booked under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and were sent to 5 days in judicial custody.
CCTV footage of Dhanbad Judge’s ‘road accident’ raised questions, judge had refused bail in high-profile case
A CCTV footage of the road accident that claimed the life of district and session Judge Uttam Anand had earlier emerged, which raised several questions about the incident. The footage showed a three-wheeler suddenly turning to the extreme left of the road and hitting the Judge. It did not stop even for a second and fled the scene. Hindi daily Jagran reported that the auto that was seen hitting Judge Anand belonged to one Sugni Devi.
It was reported stolen a night before the accident. Kriti Sinha, the wife of Judge Anand, filed an FIR at Dhanbad Police Station against unknown people. Hindustan Times had reported that Judge Anand had recently rejected a bail plea filed by an alleged contract killer Ravi Thakur and Anand Verma from Uttar Pradesh, who are linked to gangsters Abhinav Singh and Aman Singh. Ravi Thakur is currently lodged in Dhanbad jail for his alleged involvement in a high-profile murder case of Ranjay Singh.
SCBA president demanding CBI probe had earlier demanded CBI probe
The incident was brought to the notice of the Supreme Court by Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Vikas Singh who demanded a CBI probe into the shocking incident. Singh had mentioned before the SC bench of Justice DY Chandrahcud that the murder of a judicial officer for not granting bail to a gangster is an assault on the judiciary.
