SAYING THERE are “actionable clues” pointing to a “mastermind” behind the death of Dhanbad Additional Sessions Judge Uttam Anand, the CBI has said it wants to subject the two accused to narcoanalysis, brain-mapping and polygraph tests again. The accused, Lakhan Kumar Verma and Rahul Kumar Verma, are alleged to have knocked down ASJ Anand with an autorickshaw on July 28, while he was on a morning walk. They have been charged under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) and 34 (common intention). The CBI, which filed a chargesheet in a Dhanbad court on October 20, had conducted some of the tests earlier, and said the accused were deceptive. In its plea in the Dhanbad court on Thursday, the CBI sought to conduct the tests in the period between December 6 and December 29. Opposing the plea, Kumar Bimlendu, the lawyer appointed by the District Legal Services Authority, said the tests had been conducted before. The court, however, allowed it. “During the course of further investigation, actionable clues/ leads were gathered hinting towards the possible involvement of other co-accused or mastermind behind the murder of late judge Uttam Anand, whereas during police custody, both accused did not reveal anything worthwhile,” the CBI said in its plea. The CBI said that during initial investigations, the accused were subjected to various tests, including narcoanalysis, brain-mapping, forensic statement analysis, layered voice analysis, polygraph and forensic psychological assessment. In its chargesheet, the CBI said: “Rahul Kumar Verma is a professional thief who keeps looking for vulnerable targets”. It said he and Lakhan Verma had been “looking for a chance to execute the plan”. But it was silent on “the plan”, and did not spell out any motive for the crime either. The CBI said that “deliberate” and “intentional” “ramming” caused “severe bodily injuries” which were “sufficient” in the “ordinary course of nature” to cause the death of the ASJ. Following initial investigations, the police had arrested the two accused, both residents of Dhanbad. Police later handed charge of the investigation to the CBI which re-registered a case.
