CBI takes over probe into death of Dhanbad Judge

Uttam Anand was hit by an autorickshaw while he was on a morning jog

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday took over the probe into the death of Additional District and Sessions Judge Uttam Anand in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad last week.

The agency has re-registered the First Information Report on a reference from the Jharkhand government and a further notification by the Central government. The case was earlier instituted by the Dhanbad police on a complaint lodged by the Judge's wife.

The Judge died of a head injury after he was hit by an autorickshaw while he was on a morning jog on July 28. The incident was captured on a closed-circuit television camera. The CCTV footage raised suspicion of foul play.

The local police soon arrested two persons, Lakhan Kumar Verma and Rahul Verma, and seized the vehicle.

On July 30, in view of the Judge's death, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the concerns about threats faced by the subordinate judiciary, particularly trial judges.

The Court observed that the gruesome incident had wider ramifications. It directed the Chief Secretary and the Director-General of Police of Jharkhand to jointly submit a status report of inquiry within a week.

Earlier, the Jharkhand High Court had set up a Special Investigation Team to inquire into the Judge's death.