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CBI court holds 2 guilty for murder of Dhanbad judge Uttam Anand
The quantum of punishment of the two convicts will be pronounced on August 6.
A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Thursday convicted an auto rickshaw driver and his accomplice in the murder of Dhanbad additional district judge Uttam Anand, exactly a year after the judge was mowed down by a three-wheeler in an incident that sparked off security concerns in the entire judiciary.
The quantum of punishment of the two convicts will be pronounced on August 6.
Auto driver Lakhan Verma, 22, and his accomplice Rahul Verma, 21, were arrested two days after the incident last year.
“Special CBI court judge Rajnikant Pathak held the two accused guilty under sections 302 (murder), 201 (destruction of evidence) and 34 (common intention) of Indian Penal Code. The court has fixed August 6 to decide on the quantum of punishment,” CBI special prosecutor Amit Jindal told reporters.
Justice Anand was on a morning jog when he was mowed down by the vehicle on July 28 last year. The vehicle, which was stolen from Dhanbad, was recovered from neighbouring Giridih district that night.
The Supreme Court and the Jharkhand high court took suo motu cognisance of the hit-and-run incident after CCTV footage showed the three-wheeler swerving on an empty road to knock him down.
The CBI took over the probe on July 31 after the top said the incident had larger ramifications for the independence of the judiciary. The state government also recommended an investigation by the central agency in the case.
The CBI filed its chargesheet against the duo under the above mentioned sections on October 20. The sessions court framed the charges on February 2 this year and completed the trial on July 26.
The CBI had produced 58 witnesses, including a team of 40 experts comprising doctors, scientists and forensic experts, to substantiate the case, Jindal said.
Defence counsel Kumar Bimlendu said he would plead for minimum punishment for the convicts.
“While we are expected to get a copy of the detailed order in the next few days, going by the operative part of the verdict that the judge read out, it seems the court has relied on the video footage and the account of an eye witness who was riding a bike just behind the auto rickshaw,” Bimlendu said.
The prosecution had earlier claimed that the two accused admitted that they were trying to snatch the judge’s mobile phone when the incident took place.
The defence, however, pleaded that it was not an intentional hit and the only charge the accused could attract was 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).
The autopsy report said the death occurred due to injuries caused by a hard and blunt substance on the head.
In the course of investigation, the CBI recreated the crime scene and announced a cash reward of up to ₹10 lakh. The agency also conducted narco tests and brain mapping of the accused twice, a move that was later criticised by the high court.
In its charge sheet in October, the CBI said the incident appeared to be “planned and intentional” and “does not appear to be an accident”. The autorickshaw had closely followed the judge before knocking him down, it said.
