Dhanbad judge murder: Convicts sentenced to life term

Jharkhand: A special CBI court in Dhanbad sentenced both men convicted of the sensational murder of Additional District and Sessions Judge, Dhanbad, Uttam Anand. The official was mowed down on the road when he was out for his morning walk.

Both culprits - Lakhan Kumar Verma and Rahul Kumar Verma - are sentenced to spend the remainder of their natural life without remission. Both were convicted on July 28, a year after the crime. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 30,000 on them.

Judge Anand was murdered on July 28, 2021. He was deliberately hit by an auto-rickshaw and died during treatment. Visuals caught on CCTV went viral on social media and prompted the Supreme Court to take up the case suo moto. The Jharkhand High Court was ordered to monitor the trial.

The state government took over the case on August 4, 2021. The state police had earlier registered a case on a complaint from Anand's wife. The CBI constituted a Special Investigation Team and filed the charge sheet on October 20, 2021.

58 witnesses were examined in the trial which was completed in a record time of six months .

CBI court judge Rajnikant Pathak held driver Lakhan Verma and his accomplice Rahul Verma guilty under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of the offence, giving false information to protect offender), and 34 (common intention). CBI additional public prosecutor Amit Jindal said both accused were not intoxicated and the court ruled that it was an intentional murder.

Defence lawyer Kumar Bimelendu told the media CBI has concocted a murder theory and the verdict will be challenged in the higher court.

Dhanbad judge murder: Convicts sentenced to life term