Jharkhand Judge Death Case: A Year After Killing, 2 Men Convicted For Murder

Jharkhand Judge Uttam Anand Death Case: The Jharkhand Police suspected that the incident was a premeditated hit-and-run case and named two Dhanbad residents– Lakhan Verma and Rahul Verma– accused in the case. Both were booked under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence), and 34 (common intention).

Ranchi/Jharkhand: A year after judge Uttam Anand was mowed down by an autorickshaw in Jharkhand, a special CBI court in Ranchi on Wednesday convicted both the accused—Lakhan Verma and Rahul Verma. The quantum of punishment will be announced next week.

The Jharkhand Police suspected that the incident was a premeditated hit-and-run case and named two Dhanbad residents– Lakhan Verma and Rahul Verma– accused in the case. Both were booked under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence), and 34 (common intention).

How Judge Uttam Anand Was Killed?

ASJ Anand was on a morning walk on July 28, 2021, when he was run over by an autorickshaw near Randheer Prasad Verma Chowk in Dhanbad. He was rushed to the Dhanbad Medical College and Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The autopsy report said death had occurred “due to injuries caused by hard and blunt substance” on the head.

Initially, the incident was initially called a hit-and-run. Later a video surfaced, leading to a murder investigation. The video footage showed Anand being knocked down from behind by a vehicle. CCTV camera footage showed the autorickshaw veering towards him on an empty road, and the judge’s wife, Kriti Sinha, told police that “it appears the autorickshaw driver, in a pre-planned manner, hit him on his head which led to his death”.