Dhanbad judge incident: BJP pulls up Hemant Soren government, demands CBI probe
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has targeted the Hemant Soren government over the ‘murder’ of Dhanbad Court District and Sessions Judge-8 Uttam Anand in a road accident. BJP’s Jharkhand unit president Deepak Prakash has demanded a CBI probe into the murder and alleged that the arrest made in the case was a mere formality.
He told India TV, “The law and order situation in Jharkhand under the Hemant Soren government is deteriorating continuously. The government is just a mute spectator and people are helpless. This incident is unfortunate.”
“It should be probed and the culprits should be punished. CBI should investigate the murder,” the BJP leader said.
Uttam Anand went out on a morning walk on Wednesday after the incident at Randhir Verma Chowk near the district court in the Sadar police station area of Dhanbad. According to the police, a vehicle hit him from behind at around 5 am and fled. The judge found him covered in blood by an auto-rickshaw driver, who took him to the Shaheed Nirmal Mahato Medical College and Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
The matter came up in the Supreme Court today when senior advocate Vikas Singh, who is also the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president, referred to it and said it was a “shameless attack” on the independence of the judiciary. Singh said the investigation in the case should be handed over to the CBI as the murder of a judicial officer, apparently for not granting bail to a gangster, is an attack on the judicial system.
However, the Supreme Court said that the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court has already taken up the matter and the authorities concerned in the matter have been asked to appear before it. “We are aware of the incident and we appreciate the efforts of SCBA. I have spoken to the Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court. He has taken up the matter in his own hands and asked the officials to be present there. The matter is going on there. Leave it there,” said Chief Justice NV Ramana.
Meanwhile, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the death of the judge in Jharkhand. The SIT was formed after CCTV footage surfaced in which the three-wheeler suddenly turned on the extreme left of the road and was seen hitting the judge before fleeing from the spot.
“I have formed an SIT under the leadership of City SP which will look into all possible reasons. The CCTV footage and all related aspects will be analyzed and the vehicle will be identified. We have respected the members of the victim’s family for registering the complaint and we will register an FIR,” Sanjeev Kumar, Dhanbad SSP, said.
Read more: Outrage erupts over CCTV footage of Dhanbad judge’s road ‘accident’, SIT formed to probe death
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