New Delhi: Two months after eight-year-old second grader Pradyuman Thakur was found dead with his throat slit at Ryan International School in Gurugram, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Wednesday that the murder was committed by a Class XI student who wanted to get the examinations and a Parent-Teacher Meeting (PTM) postponed.
“We have come to this conclusion on the basis of CCTV, forensic evidence and scientific evidence. At this stage, we have not found any role of the school bus conductor who had earlier been arrested by Gurugram Police. The Class XI student confessed that he bought the weapon two days before the murder. Before this, he had also spoken to his classmates about postponing Parent-Teacher meeting and examinations,” CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal told media.
The development came two months after Pradyuman was found dead with his throat slit outside a washroom in the school. CBI recovered the murder weapon but ruled out sexual assault in the incident.
The Class XI student will be taken to Gurgaon Juvenile Justice Board. After he is presented there, CBI will seek further custody of the boy.
Meanwhile, the detained student’s father said his son was innocent.
“My son had alerted teachers at Ryan International School that Pradyuman had been attacked. CBI questioned him four times. What happened to the child who died is so wrong, but that another child should go through injustice is also unfair. Ask anyone at the school ... did they see any blood on him? I can tell you there was not a single spot of blood on his clothes,” the father, who requested anonymity, said.
According to sources in CBI, the accused was mentally disturbed and had anger management issues. He is said to have brought a knife to school earlier as well and was undergoing psychiatric treatment.
The victim’s father Vikram Thakur, who had earlier moved the Supreme Court (SC) seeking an independent probe, said he wanted the culprit to be hanged.
“We want the culprit to be hanged. We will ask for a death sentence. There are indications that Ryan management could also be involved in falsely framing evidence. We are thankful to CBI. We believe that some senior teachers could also be involved. From day one, we never believed the version of local cops. We knew that evidence was being falsely framed,” Thakur said.
The Class XI student has been charged with Section 302 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) which deals with punishment for murder which is a heinous offence. Now as per the new Juvenile Justice Act, if a juvenile between the ages of 16 to 18 commits a “heinous” crime, they may be tried as an adult based on Juvenile Justice (JJ) Board’s assessment.
Meanwhile, the family of bus conductor Ashok Kumar, 42, says he was framed and there was a conspiracy to protect the real culprits.
“My husband Ashok was beaten up and given injections by the local police. CBI is conducting a fair investigation now. We were hopeful that truth would come out. We have been saying this from the beginning that Ashok is innocent. He was asked to admit to the crime. He was a sole bread earner, now who will compensate for the pain and suffering we went through,” Kumar’s wife told Gulf News.
