SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Oct 11: The two accused in the death of Dhanbad Additional District & Sessions Judge (ADJ)-8 Uttam Anand in a road accident were sent to jail (judicial custody) on Monday after serving a seven-day CBI remand.
Both the accused, auto driver Lakhan Verma and his accomplice Rahul Verma, were brought before Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate cum Special Magistrate CBI Abhishekh Srivastava and appealed for their judicial custody.
The court of Special Judicial Magistrate CBI, after hearing the plea of the central investigating agency (CBI), sent Lakhan and Rahul to Dhanbad Jail.
On October 4, the CBI’s Delhi crime branch placed both of the suspects on detention for the third time for questioning. Despite the fact that the investigative team requested an 11-day remand, the special court only granted seven days.
Additional District and Session Judge -8 Uttam Anand was killed in a road accident early on July 28 at Randhir Verma Chowk under the Sadar police station area. The accident happened while the judge was out on a morning walk. An autorickshaw struck him and fled, according to the CCTV footage. The driver, Lakhan Verma, was arrested and the auto-rickshaw was impounded the same day in Giridih.
Despite a seven-day interrogation of the accused, the CBI has made little progress in solving the murder mystery. On October 9, a CBI team examined Nand Kumar Singh (who is being held in the Hotwar jail in Ranchi) and Harsh Singh in Dhanbad, but they apparently found no evidence of a conspiracy.
According to a senior police officer aiding the CBI in the case, the investigative agency informed the court that both of the accused were repeatedly changing their statements like professional criminals.
