Released on bail a day earlier after the needle of suspicion pointed elsewhere, bus conductor Ashok Kumar, who was arrested in the Ryan school murder case, narrated his ordeal at the hands of Gurugram police to The Hindu on Thursday.
Lying on a bed at his uncle’s house in Ghamroj village near Gurugram, the 42-year-old claimed that he was hung upside down, brutally beaten up and given electric shocks to extract the ‘confession’ of killing seven-year old Pradhyuman Thakur.
“They gave me electric shocks to extort confession. They also used to give me an injection saying it will help me bear the pain and sleep,” said Mr. Kumar, adding that he had swollen thighs and calves for several days due to the beatings. Mr. Kumar, who has been running high fever for over a week now and is still suffering from severe body ache and chest pain, couldn’t recall the number of times he was administered the injection since he was mostly in a “semi-conscious state” in police custody. “I don’t exactly remember the places they took me to. I just repeated what they told me,” claimed Mr. Kumar.
Recounting the sequence of events leading to his arrest, Mr. Kumar said that he was outside when the gardener called him in. A teacher (which teacher) then directed him to carry the injured boy (Pradhyuman) to the vehicle. “The teacher told me that the boy had injured his head and was being taken to hospital,” he said.
Mr. Kumar said the police reached the school around an hour after the incident and went straight to the principal’s room.
“A police officer called me inside the principal’s office and took me to the adjoining washroom. I thought he would question me regarding the incident. But he asked me why I killed the boy. When I vehemently denied it, he punched me four-five times in the stomach and asked me to follow him. He then took me to a police station in Sohna,” claimed Mr. Kumar.
