The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday submitted the charge sheet against auto-rickshaw drivers Lakhan Verma and Rahul Verma in the alleged murder case of Additional District and Sessions Judge of Dhanbad, Uttam Anand.
The SIT of CBI which submitted the charge-sheet at the special CBI court of Dhanbad in Jharkhand charged them for fatally knocking down the judge on the morning of July 28 near Randhir Verma Chowk in Dhanbad when he was returning home after a morning walk.
The charge sheet looks like a legal formality to stop the accused from seeking bail since an accused in judicial custody is entitled to bail if the charge sheet is not submitted within 90 days of the occurrence of the case.
However, the sources familiar with the investigation said that submitting a charge sheet doesn’t mean the investigation is over. “Supplementary charge sheet can be filed if fresh facts emerge so it is too early to pass a remark on the CBI investigation,” sources said.
The Bench of Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujeet Narayan Prasad of Jharkhand High Court has been monitoring the CBI investigation. The court has directed the CBI to go to the bottom of the case stating both accused can’t have a motive to kill the judge and they can be just a cog of a larger conspiracy.
The court on several occasions has expressed displeasure over the CBI submitting a vague status report of the investigation where the agency could not go beyond these two persons. The court had even summoned CBI Joint Director Sharad Agrawal for physical presence to explain if the agency has found anything concrete.
The death of the Dhanbad judge had shocked the judiciary and Bar across the country and the Supreme Court had expressed concerns over the safety and security of judicial officials across the country.
Both accused are petty criminals who had stolen mobile phones and an auto-rickshaw (JH 10R 0461) hours before they killed the judge. They tried convincing the CBI that they hit the judge to snatch valuable items from his possession believing he (judge) must be carrying a mobile phone and wallet. But they fled away after they saw some bikers.
The CBI so far has questioned over 100 people including some jailed gangsters. It announced a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for anyone giving useful information about this case. The CBI also conducted a narco-test upon them. Besides the agency also took over the investigation of mobile and auto-rickshaw theft.
A team of the SIT of CBI was asked to investigate possible involvements of criminals lodged in jail and whether the judge had received any threat. The CBI recently questioned Nand Kumar Singh who is in jail in connection with the Rananjay Singh murder case. Nand Kumar Singh and Harsh Singh (on bail) are accused of this case. Harsh Singh is brother-in-law of Congress’ Jharia MLA Purnima Niraj Singh.
