The Calcutta High Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over the murder probe of Raju Jha, the alleged operator of a coal syndicate, who was killed on April 1 in Bardhaman district of West Bengal. Jha was killed by two assailants while inside his car on NH-19 in Shaktigarh. The CBI is required to investigate the case within four months.
It was revealed in a CBI report submitted to the court that the victim was not an accused in any case being probed by the agency and was allegedly operating a coal syndicate between 2015-2020. A chargesheeted accused in a coal scam case, Narendra Kharka, had filed a petition seeking a CBI investigation after one of his employees was taken into custody by police in connection with Jha’s murder and allegedly tortured in custody.
The court observed that the FIR registered by Shaktigarh police station ‘is vitally linked to the existing investigations being conducted by the CBI in the coal and cattle scams.’ Justice Rajasekhar Mantha directed the CBI to take over the case from the police and complete their investigation within four months.
The West Bengal government had submitted that police had made significant progress in the investigation and were about to conclude the case. Nonetheless, the court has transferred the case to CBI custody. The court also noted that one of the persons who escaped the attack was Abdul Latif, an accused in a cattle smuggling case being probed by the agency.
