CBI is ready with ‘murder-for-robbery’ Dubey chargesheet

The NHAI manager, who had complained of corruption along a Bihar stretch of the Golden Quadrilateral highway project, was killed shortly after he boarded a rickshaw at the Gaya railway station on November 27 last year.

His case, highlighted by The Indian Express, created a public furore and prompted the then prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to declare that Dubey’s killers will be punished ‘‘wherever they are.’’ Incidentally, the CBI had said that it had found enough merit in Dubey’s complaint of corruption to the PMO to proceed in what could be at least four criminal cases against NHAI officials and private contractors.

Meanwhile, Pradeep Kumar, the rickshaw-puller, has not been seen for more than five months now. But he and his wife Asha Devi figure in the list of 65 witnesses prepared by the CBI. Also in the list are Dubey’s brother Dhananjay and members of the staff working with him at the project site. Dhananjay has raised questions regarding the CBI’s claims.

This is what the chargesheet is likely to state: Four petty robbers — the agency claims these men have confessed to seven robberies earlier — confronted Dubey in the early hours of November 27 and snatched his briefcase and cellphone. When he resisted, a single round was fired and he was shot dead. The men then fled with the Rs 4,000 in his briefcase and Rs 400 they removed from his pocket.

The same night, the CBI claims, the four men committed another robbery. This time, they struck at a house in Katari village and fled with Rs 9,000.

Uday Mallah, Monu Kumar, Tutu Kumar and Babloo — all roadside vendors and junk dealers, they make the gang of four — were picked up by the CBI from Katari on June 6. A fifth accused, Sarwan Kumar, was arrested the following week. The CBI claims it has confession statements that Montu Kumar pulled the trigger on Dubey while Sarwan Kumar ‘‘burst crackers’’ to scare people and allow them to escape.

The arrested men are lodged in a Patna jail. CBI officials claim that while all have ‘‘confessed,’’ only one, Sarwan Kumar, agreed to have his statement recorded before a magistrate.

They are likely to be charged with murder, conspiracy and possession of illegal arms under different sections of the Indian Penal Code.