Gurugram school senior suspected of killing junior sent to 3-day CBI custody

CBI says it believes that the Class XI student, who was apprehended on Tuesday night, committed the murder in a bid to postpone exams and a parent-teachers meeting and he had carried a knife to the school on September 8, the fateful day.

November 08, 2017 11:00 am | Updated 11:29 pm IST

File Photo of Ryan International School in Bhondsi where a Class II boy was found murdered on September 8. Photo: Manoj Kumar

File Photo of Ryan International School in Bhondsi where a Class II boy was found murdered on September 8. Photo: Manoj Kumar

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday night apprehended a 16-year-old Class XI student of Gurugram Ryan International School in connection with the killing of seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur, a Class II student , of the same school.

Pradyuman was found dead with his throat slit by a sharp-edged weapon on the morning of September 8 in the school toilet. The apprehended child in conflict with law allegedly wanted the scheduled exams and parent-teacher meeting in the school postponed.

CCTV footage

CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said on Wednesday: “We have come to this conclusion on the basis of CCTV footage besides forensic and scientific evidence and interview of a number of people. A student from the same school has been apprehended and he remains our prime suspect. The parents were kept in the loop all through and the weapon used in the crime has been seized.”

Police in Gurugram had arrested school bus conductor Ashok Kumar for the alleged murder and sexual assault the same day. In this case, Pradyuman’s parents and two other staff members had claimed that Ashok was being made a scapegoat.

No sexual assault

The CBI said the case was transferred to it on September 22 and its investigation showed there had been no sexual assault.

The child in conflict with law will now be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board, where the court is expected to decide whether he is to be treated as a major or a minor as per the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

The CBI spokesperson said it cannot be said with certainty whether it was a planned murder. “We don’t know what was going on in the mind of the child at the time of the crime but what we know through the course of investigation is the fact that the child carried a knife to school.”

“As for the victim being known to the child in conflict with law seems unlikely because of the vast age difference. I would say that the victim was at the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said.

On November 6, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to the Pinto family , owners of the school, in connection with the case.

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