20-member CBI team begins probe into alleged murder of Jharkhand judge

New Delhi: The CBI Wednesday took over the investigation into the death of Dhanbad judge Uttam Anand who was mowed down by a vehicle while on a morning jog July 28, officials said. A 20-member team has been set by the CBI to probe the matter. It has left for Dhanbad, they said, adding that it will be followed by a Central Forensic Science Laboratory team.

A CBI spokesperson here said: “CBI has today registered a case related to death of Uttam Anand ADJ Dhanbad on the request of Jharkhand Government and further notification from the Centre and taken over the investigation.”

A case was earlier registered by Dhanbad police as Anand was killed after an autorickshaw hit him on July 28 while he was on a morning walk.

After the CCTV footage surfaced, the Jharkhand government had formed an SIT to probe the matter. But, later it recommended the CBI probe into the death.

The special investigation team probing the killing of the judge has so far not made any headway, despite arresting a total of 17 people in the case including autorickshaw driver Lakhan Verma and his associate Rahul Verma.

Tuesday, the Jharkhand High Court Tuesday directed the CBI to start the probe into the death of the judge at the earliest, so that no evidence is destroyed.

The court directed the state government to provide all logistics support and documents to the CBI.

The court also directed the Jharkhand DGP to ensure security to the judicial officers in the state, and ensure deployment of security guards at their houses. It also wanted to know, if the incident took place at 5.08 a.m., why the FIR was lodged at 12.45 p.m.

IANS