SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, July 28: On the first death anniversary of the district and sessions judge Uttam Anand of Dhanbad Civil Court, the CBI court on Thursday gave its verdict in the case related to his murder.
The court of CBI Special Judge Rajnikanth Pathak while delivering the judgement through video conferencing held both the accused, Lakhan Verma and Rahul Verma, guilty under IPC Sections –302, 201, 34.
The quantum of punishment would be announced on August 6.
CBI APP Amit Jindal said that the court found that both the accused were not in intoxication condition. It was not an accident but intentional murder. Lakhan Verma and Rahul Verma are in judicial custody since the incident.
According to the information, for the first time in Jharkhand, the CBI court has completed the hearing in just 5 months by running a speedy trial.
On Tuesday, the court held the final hearing on the matter. A copy of the decision of other courts was filed in the court on behalf of the defence. The arguments from both sides had already been completed. After which the court had fixed Thursday for the decision.
Additional Judge of Dhanbad Uttam Anand was killed in the early morning of July 28, 2021, at around 5 am in a road accident while he was on a morning walk near Randhir Verma Chowk under Dhanbad Sadar police station.
The CCTV footage showed an auto rickshaw intentionally knocking him down on the corner of the empty road. The auto driver Lakhan Verma was arrested with the vehicle in a village of Giridih district later in the day while his accomplish Lakhan from the Pathaldih area of the district.
After the incident, the state government had set up Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe. But Jharkhand High Court and Supreme Court took suo – moto cognizance of the incident and the state government handed over the case to CBI on August 4, 2021.
Charges were framed against both accused in court on February 2, 2022. On 7 March 2022, the first witness testified in the case. Within 3 months, the court completed the statements of a total of 58 witnesses. On behalf of CBI, Special Prosecutor of Crime Branch Amit Jindal argued in the case. Advocate Kumar Vimlendu of DLSA was the defence lawyer.
After the judgement, the defense lawyer Kumar Vimalendu told media persons that it was an accidental case and CBI concocted a murder theory. Lakhan and Rahul both would challenge the verdict in a higher court in the stipulated time.
