Gurugram Student Murder: CBI Holds Teen Guilty, Conductor Innocent

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(Photo: The Quint)

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a chargesheet in the murder of 7-year-old school student Prince (name changed as per court order) in a Gurugram school. Prince was found with his throat slit in the school's washroom on 8 September 2017.

In the 2,500-page chargesheet, the CBI has only named Bholu (name changed as per court order), a 16-year old student of the same school, as the child in conflict with law.

According to the CBI, there are several evidences including the forensic report, behavioural analysis of Bholu, the murder weapon, records of Bholu’s email, testimony of 127 witnesses and circumstantial evidence.

The witnesses include school teachers, Bholu’s friends and classmates, school staff etc. Of these witnesses, CBI has got testimony of several crucial witnesses recorded before the magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC.

In the chargesheet the CBI has also requested the court to discharge Ashok Kumar, a bus conductor who was accused by Gurugram Police, from the case as the agency has found no evidence against him in the murder of Prince.

The Quint has accessed the chargesheet filed by the CBI. Here are some of the important excerpts.

Evidence Against Bholu In CBI Chargesheet

The forensics report confirms that fingerprints of Bholu have matched with the one that was found by the Gurugram Police at the crime scene.

In the chargesheet the CBI says:

Bholu admitted that he also searched the internet using his email id on how to remove fingerprints from the crime scene. 

CCTV Footage

The CBI mentioned several CCTV camera footages in which Bholu is seen with Prince, entering the washroom gallery.

In the chargesheet, the CBI says that Prince was murdered in just one minute between 7:38 am and 7:39 am.

As per the CCTV camera installed at ground floor on the backside of the washroom,

• Bholu entered the washroom gallery at 7:36:03 am
• He came out from the washroom gallery with Prince at 7:37:34 am.
• Prince with his schoolbag on his back entered the washroom at 7:38:03
• Bholu entered the washroom gallery again at 7:38:23 am and no one entered washroom gallery after him.
• Bholu is seen in camera installed at wooden gate at 7:39:37 am from where he moved towards upstairs.

Murder Weapon

As per the chargesheet, the CBI claims that there is enough supportive evidence to prove that the murder weapon which was recovered from the commode of the washroom was purchased and used by Bholu to commit crime.

Bholu allegedly took the CBI and two independent witnesses to the shop from where he purchased the knife, the murder weapon. CBI picked two knives similar to the murder weapon from the shop and sent to forensics for tests. The forensics report confirmed that the three knives are similar in respect of their shape, size, length, width, sharpness and other features.

Motive: To Cancel Examination and Parent-Teacher Meet

The probe agency had claimed that the teenager had killed Prince in a bid to get the school closed so as to defer an impending examination as well as a parent-teacher meeting.

The chargesheet mentioned several witnesses who were Bholu’s classmate and have testified that he had earlier spoken about getting examinations cancelled.

Based on a testimony of Bholu’s classmate, CBI in the chargesheet has stated that in the month of August 2017, Bholu came to some of his classmates and told them “don’t prepare for the exams, the same are not going to be held this time and don’t waste your time.”

CBI has also said that Bholu had asked some of his classmates to bring poison so that they can mix it in the water-tank which will result in the death of some student. As a result, there would be no parents-teachers meeting or examination.

Ashok Kumar Was Coerced by Gurugram Police

In the chargesheet the CBI has not only requested the court to discharge Kumar from the murder but has also mentioned how the Gurugram Police forced him to give a confessional statement before the media.

Conductor Ashok Kumar had said that he was tortured by Gurugram Police officials at Sohna to make him confess to the crime. The police also allegedly threatened Kumar to confess that he used the knife kept in the toolbox of the school bus to kill the child since he had seen him masturbating in the toilet. 

The CBI will make Kumar a witness in the case once the court discharges him as an accused in the case.

In the CCTV footage, Kumar is seen walking into the washroom gallery. On which the CBI said in the chargesheet:

Ashok Kumar’s presence inside the washroom has been explained and found to be justified and true based on independent versions of several witnesses and minute analysis of CCTV footage. 

Role of School and Gurugram Police

The agency says that the investigation is still on about the role of the school and Gurugram Police. The CBI refused to share further details on this aspect.

The agency is likely to file a supplementary chargesheet based on further investigation.

In the chargesheet, though there is glaring evidence to show that the Gurugram Police coerced Kumar to confess to the crime, the CBI didn’t mention the names of the police officers involved.

The chargesheet also doesn’t speak about the role of two school officials who were earlier arrested by the Gurugram Police.

The Juvenile Justice Board had ordered that Bholu would be tried as an adult. Hence, the CBI has filed the chargesheet under Section 302 (murder). If convicted, Bholu will stay in a correctional home until he turns 21, after which the court can shift him to a jail or grant him bail, it had earlier said.