Ryan International School case: Class 11 student held for Pradhuman murder

CBI says the arrest was made after forensic analysis of the scene of crime and CCTV footage.

WrittenBy:Shruti Menon
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Exactly two months after the murder of seven-year-old Pradhuman Thakur in Ryan International School, Sohna Road, Gurugram, the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested a Class 11 student of the school on Wednesday for the murder.

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Speaking to Newslaundry, CBI press information officer RK Gaur said, “Initial investigations revealed that the student (accused) wanted the exams and the parent-teachers meeting postponed.” The accused’s identity has not been revealed since he is a minor. He is now in CBI custody.

The CBI detained the student on the night of November 7, “after thorough investigation based on scientific evidence including inspection of scene of crime, forensic analysis, analysis of CCTV footage, analysis of various call records and questioning of several persons,” said the agency press release. According to CBI officials, the weapon used in Pradhuman’s murder was a knife and is in their custody.

Earlier, a school bus conductor, Ashok Kumar, had confessed the crime and was arrested for the murder. The CBI, however, has not given a clean chit to the conductor, who had been accused of attempting to sexually assault Pradhuman besides murdering him.

Based on its findings, the CBI is expected to file the chargesheet on November 18. The agency took over investigations into the case on September 22 on the recommendation of the Haryana government after a public outcry.

Newslaundry visited the school to ask teachers and students about this twist in the case. “Jitna mai usko janta hu us hisab se toh bilkul nahi lagta ki woh aisa kar sakta tha, media me jo frame kiya ja raha hai woh galat hai (I knew him, he could not have done this, he is being framed in the media),” said a Class 9 student who did not wish to be identified. Another student also echoed the first speaker. “He was average in studies and was a nice person. He was from a good background, I don’t think he could be involved in something like this,” another student, who claimed to be his friend, said.

At the juvenile justice court in Gurugram, where the accused was to be produced in the afternoon, the scene was different. Media persons were waiting in anticipation for the police and the CBI to arrive with the accused. After much ado, the accused was brought in with the police while the CBI and the father of the accused had already arrived to make an appeal against the CBI demand for custody.

Mera baccha nirdosh hai, uspar lage ilzaam galat hai (My son is innocent, all allegations levelled against him are false),” the father, who is a Gurugram-based lawyer, told the media. Though CBI officials at the court refused to comment, the lawyer of the accused, Sandeep Aneja, briefly interacted with the media. “The CBI had sought 6-day remand, but they have been given only 3 days,” Aneja said. “CBI has cooked up the case,” he added as journalists sought more answers from him.

The CBI has been given permission to interrogate the accused between 10 am and 6 pm for three days, following which the student would be sent to a welfare home. He would be produced in the court again on Saturday, November 11.

Meanwhile, Pradhuman’s father Varun Thakur, who had been demanding a CBI investigation despite the confession of the bus conductor, told the media that whatever suspicion he had about the police’s investigation has been confirmed with the latest twist. In a press conference, Thakur and his lawyer Sushil Tekriwal demanded the accused be tried as an adult and be given the severest punishment possible.

With inputs from Ratnadeep Choudhary

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