The Dhanbad police on Monday sent the two accused in the additional district judge Uttam Anand death case into judicial custody after questioning, and the special investigation team (SIT) constituted to probe the incident submitted its report with the Jharkhand high court, which is likely to hear the case on Tuesday, officials said.
The high court had taken suo motu cognisance of the incident on Thursday and directed the police to submit an investigation report by August 3. Later, on Friday, the Supreme Court also took cognisance of the incident and sought a report from the state, even after clarifying it was interested in the high court hearing related to the matter.
Dhanbad senior superintendent of police Sanjiv Kumar confirmed the police have submitted the report to the high court but refused to share the details.
Additional director general (operations) Sanjay Anand Lathkar told reporters that all possible angles to understand the reason behind the road accident that killed Anand is being investigated.
The CCTV footage of the incident casts doubts over the nature of the accident as the auto-rickshaw that killed Anand is seen swerving to the extreme left of the road from the centre before hitting the judge down and fleeing from the spot.
The two persons — Lakhan Verma and Rahul Verma — riding the allegedly stolen three-wheeler, were arrested a day later, and the vehicle recovered. However, the police are yet to officially disclose the motive of the two persons behind the accident. “Different teams are looking into the incident. They have been given specific leads to work on. We are leaving no possible angle to crack the case,” Lathkar told reporters after a marathon meeting in Dhanbad on Monday.
Meanwhile, since the SIT took over the case, around 250 persons were picked up for questioning in connection with the case. The Hemant Soren government on Saturday has recommended a CBI probe in the incident. However, the central investigation agency is yet to begin a probe in the case.
