Dhanbad judge's murder case trial to begin on Feb 22
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Dhanbad judge Uttam Anand was killed after he was hit by an auto-rickshaw when he was out for his morning walk. (File Photo)
Dhanbad: A CBI official on Thursday said that the trial in the murder case of Dhanbad Judge Uttam Anand is scheduled to begin on February 22.
A CBI court in Jharkhand on Wednesday has framed charges against the two persons made accused in the alleged murder of the judge in July last year.
Lakhan Verma, the driver of a 3-wheeler goods carrier, and his alleged accomplice Rahul Verma have been also charged for disappearance of evidence, giving false evidence and performing offence in furtherance of common intention under Sections 302, 201 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
The special CBI court has ordered the CBI to produce witnesses on February 22.
The CBI court of Rajnikant Pathak also deferred the bail hearings of the accused who are in jail since last August, the official said.
The CBI had last month changed the investigation team after Jharkhand High Court pulled up the agency for its "laxity".
The High Court had observed that it seemed the CBI was trying to quit the investigation and protect the accused.
The CBI had filed its charge sheet in October last year against the accused.
The 49-year-old judge was run over by an autorickshaw while he was out on a morning jogon July 28, 2021.
CCTV camera footage showed that the judge was jogging on one side of a fairly wide road in Dhanbad when the auto-rickshaw veered towards him, hit him from behind and fled the scene, killing him.
The case was handed over to the CBI by the Jharkhand government.