'What Is the Motive?': Auto Driver's Counsel Asks in Dhanbad Judge Murder Case

A special CBI court has convicted the accused Lakhan Verma and Rahul Verma in the case.

Additional District Judge Uttam Anand was killed in a road incident in Jharkhand's Dhanbad on 28 July last year.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court convicted the accused Lakhan Verma and Rahul Verma in the Additional District Judge Uttam Anand murder case.

Dhanbad's Additional District and Sessions Judge-8 pronounced the order. However, the counsel of the accused Kumar Vimlendu said that he was not satisfied with the court's verdict and said that he will challenge the court's decision in the high court.

Vimlendu argued that there is record of motive or intent of the murder. He questioned, why would auto driver Lakhan Verma kill a judge? Neither motive nor intent has come in the record, he said.

On 28 July last year, an auto hit Judge Uttam Anand at Randhir Verma Chowk in Dhanbad, leading to his death. The incident happened at 5 am when Judge Anand had stepped out for a walk.

Judge Rajinikanth Pathak convicted jailed auto driver Lakhan Verma and co-accused Rahul Verma via videoconference under Sections 302 (murder), 201 (removal of evidence, false information) and 34 (act done by several persons with common intention) of the IPC. The sentence will now be pronounced on 6 August.

What Happened in Court?

CBI Special Prosecutor Amit Jindal, while talking to reporters outside the court, said that he is satisfied with the court's decision. He said, “This is quite a good decision. On the day of hearing on the sentence, they will demand the court to give capital punishment to both the convicts. Both the criminals have attacked the judiciary of the country.”

However, Vimlendu questioned the purpose of the auto driver behind the murder of the judge and said,

“Would a tempo driver be so envious of a judge as to intentionally kill him? At the time of the incident, an eyewitness who was driving behind the auto said that both of them had deliberately killed the judge. We only want to know that why did they kill intentionally? The answer for which has not yet been found. This will set a very wrong trend. It was an accident but it has been termed as murder.”

According to the news published in the local newspaper Prabhat Khabar, while delivering the verdict, Judge Rajinikanth Pathak said, “Whatever the decision is, it will not be final. There is a way to go forward for both the sides. The one above (HC) will decide. We are passing our verdict based on the evidence we have.”

There is no dispute that Lakhan was driving the auto and Rahul was sitting next to him. Both the accused tried to mislead the court and kept changing their statements. The accused leveled allegations against each other, but, stressed that the incident was an accident.

The driver said that something had come under the auto and the vehicle swerved. However, the evidence does not suggests so.

The Judge said, “The accused claimed that he was intoxicated. But experts said after the test that he was not drunk. In such a situation, it is proved that both of them intentionally killed Judge Uttam Anand.”

Responding to the verdict, lawyer Vimlendu said,

“Newspapers were repeatedly quoting the police saying that both of them were drunk at that time. But the court says that he was not drunk. That same report was first brought to FSL Lab Ranchi but due to lack of necessary chemicals there, it was sent to Delhi. But the lab in Delhi, where this investigation has been done, is CBI’s own lab.”

The Timeline of the Murder

Both the accused were arrested after the incident on 28 July 2021. On 3 August 2021, the Jharkhand High Court, expressing dissatisfaction over the Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigation, ordered a CBI inquiry.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance in this matter and directed the Jharkhand High Court to monitor the matter continuously. On 4 August, the CBI registered the case. Later, on 20 October, a charge sheet was filed with the recorded statements of 169 witnesses.

On 2 February 2022, both the accused were charged for murder and the investigation of the case began. A total of 58 witnesses were examined during this period.

The special CBI court gave the verdict just six months after charges were framed against the accused. According to the press release issued by the CBI, this investigation has been completed in record time.