RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Aug.17: The Jharkhand High Court expressed its displeasure over the CBI investigation in Dhanbad Judge Uttam Anand death case.
This was reflected after Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan during the hearing of the case asked how the investigating agency can continue probing the case when the trial is over and the accused have been convicted and sentenced. Apart from this, the court also asked whether the investigating agency has taken permission from the trial court to continue the investigation.
The high court observed that the CBI so far failed to bring anything new and the investigation was still in the same stage at which the CBI had taken over it. The high court observed that the investigating agency is yet to probe the conspiracy angle.
The high court has fixed August 31 for the next hearing in the matter.
On July 28, Judge Uttam Anand died after an auto rickshaw knocked him coming from the backside when he was on a morning walk outside the Magistrate Colony near Randhir Verma Chowk in the coal city.
CCTV footage collected from the spot suggests that the driver of the vehicle intentionally hit the judge who was walking on the extreme left of the deserted road at the time of incident. CCTV footage shows that the vehicle changed lanes and hit the judge going extreme left.
Legal fraternity took strong exception to the incident and suspected it a case of attack on the judicial system. The High Court and the Supreme Court both took serious note of the matter. The High Court started monitoring the case. Sensing the gravity of the situation, state police constituted an SIT.
The police swung into action and arrested the driver of the auto rickshaw and seized his vehicle. This year on July 28, the CBI court gave its verdict in the case after a year-long trial and examination of as many as 58 witnesses. The court of Special Judge Rajinikanth Pathak of the CBI Court held auto driver Lakhan Verma and his companion Rahul Verma guilty on July 28 and on August 6 awarded them life sentences.
