Jharkhand HC pulls up CBI again for tardy progress in Dhanbad judge murder probe

Jharkhand High Court Friday reprimanded CBI yet again for the tardy progress in the probe into the murder of Dhanbad judge, Uttam Anand and directed it to file an affidavit on the new developments in the investigation. 

Seeking time to come out with "new facts", the CBI told a division bench of the HC that it has quizzed as many as 200 people in the past couple of months to unearth the identity of the conspirators responsible for the killing of the judge.

Chief Justice Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad posted the matter for hearing again on January 14 and directed CBI to furnish the affidavit on the new developments as mentioned by it.

Uttam Anand, an additional district judge ranking judicial officer was run over by an auto-rickshaw on July 28, 2021, in the early morning hours when he was out for his morning walk.                

The entire incident was captured live on the CCTV camera installed by the Dhanbad district administration and had shocked the judiciary across the country. Jharkhand High Court has been monitoring the case from the beginning and has kept a close tab on the investigation by CBI. 

Earlier too the bench had conveyed its dismay on the poor pace of investigation by the investigating agency. In December it had said that the agency has been filing multiple reports but was unable to give a plausible explanation of the events leading to the murder.

It had on multiple occasions pulled up CBI in the case. In October the HC had said that the investigating agency's chargesheet in the case was like a "novel" and it had failed to substantiate the murder charge against the two accused persons.

On October 22, it had said the agency seems to have worked like babus (clerks) while completing the probe and had filed a "stereotype" charge sheet.

The CBI on its part had earlier assured the court several times that investigation in the case is in full swing and that the connection between the two accused with several persons is being explored to link it with Anand's murder.

The Supreme Court had directed Jharkhand High Court to monitor the investigation in the case.

Image: ANI/Representative Image