A video clip shows Judge Uttam Anand jogging on a deserted road in Dhanbad, Jharkhand around 5 am when an autorickshaw hit and kills him.
Originally, his death was thought to be a hit and run case, but the release of a new video clip of his death, taken by someone who zoomed it and released it revealed it was a deliberate, and premeditated murder sparking outrage in India.
The Supreme Court has taken cognizance of the terrible incident and assures action and Chief Justice NV Ramana said the Jharkhand High Court “has taken up the issue and the case is now on”.
The driver of a tempo that hit District and Additional Judge Uttam Anand in Dhanbad has been arrested along with an associate, the police say.
According to the police statement, they say that Judge Uttam Anand was on his morning run yesterday when he was hit by “an unidentified vehicle” just half a km from his home in Dhanbad.
Judge Anand was found lying on the road, bleeding profusely, by a man who immediately took him to hospital. He died in the hospital, according to the police. However, the judge’s identity remained a mystery for hours, it is reported.
His family reported him missing when he did not return home at 7 am. The police finally tracked him down to the hospital and established him as the man who had died in the accident.
The police state the video clip makes it evident that the autorickshaw deliberately rammed into him. Investigations have revealed the vehicle was stolen just a few hours before the judge was hit. The clip circulating on social media triggered the demand for a bigger investigation.
The police are focusing on Judge Anand’s cases. He had been handling many cases of mafia killings in Dhanbad town and had recently rejected the bail requests of two gangsters.
Earlier, raising the incident before a bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud, lawyer Vikas Singh had said: “It is a brazen attack on the judiciary. This is a matter which should go to the CBI. The local police are usually complicit in such matters. It is shocking. A judge is on a morning walk and is hit by a vehicle. He was dealing with bail applications of gangsters. This is an attack on judicial independence.”
This leads people to think of the frightening situations under which Judge Loya lost his life. A case too forbidden to talk about or probe into, but circumstantial evidence points out a murder. Will judges be safe anymore? Perhaps the morning jog on open roads is out of the question for judges today.
The video clip taken by a witness.