The Ryan International School student arrested for the murder two months ago of his seven-year-old schoolmate, Pradyuman Thakur, told members of the Juvenile Justice Board during counselling on Saturday that he knew his victim before the incident. They both were good at playing the piano and attended classes at school.
A highly placed source in Haryana State Commission for Protection of Child Rights told The Hindu that the teenager revealed that the atmosphere at his home was stressed because of constant fights between his parents and he slowly lost interest in studies.
“The teenager told the JJ Board members that he was good at piano, but could not concentrate on his studies due to the hostile atmosphere at home. He was frustrated. He had exam-phobia and he wanted the exams to be postponed at any cost,” said the source.
Fatal familiarity
The boy also revealed that he carried the knife in his bag on the day of murder, but had no clear plans on how to use it.
He kept his bag in his classroom after his reached school on September 8 morning and returned with the knife to the ground floor. The boy told the JJ Board members that he saw Pradyuman entering the school premises at this point.
Since he knew the little boy, he took him to the washroom on the pretext of seeking a favour and then slit his throat.
The little boy vomited blood after the first cut and got the second deeper cut as he fell on the knife, according to the juvenile in conflict with the law. The teenager told the JJ Board members that he did not get blood stains on his clothes as the victim still had his school bag on his back which shielded him from the blood, the source said.
He then left the knife in the washroom, went out and informed the gardener and his teachers.
The source said the District Child Protection Unit would now prepare a Social Investigation Report (SIP) in this case after meeting the parents, neighbours and friends of the juvenile to find whether his story matched his circumstances.
He said that the SIP would play an important role in decision-making in this case.
Pradyuman's father Barun Thakur confirmed to The Hindu that his son had been attending piano classes in the school for the past two years.
