“He’s Innocent,” Says Father of Teen Accused of Ryan School Murder

The teen, who was apprehended by the CBI on 9 November, has been sent to a Faridabad observation home.

Seven-year-old Pradyumn Thakur was murdered in Gurugram’s Ryan International School on 8 September.

(Photo: PTI)

The father of the Class 11 student who was apprehended in connection with the murder of Pradyumn Thakur, claimed on 11 November that his son was “completely innocent”.

He also said that his son – who has been accused of murdering 7-year-old Pradyumn Thakur in the premises of the Ryan International School, Gurugram, on 8 September – was being “tortured” and “thrashed” in custody.

The accused teenager was apprehended by the CBI on 9 November and sent to a Faridabad observation home till 22 November, which is also the date of next hearing.

Meanwhile, the bail application on Ashok Kumar, the bus conductor who was initially accused of the murder, was submitted in the Gurugram court on 10 November. The next date of hearing has been set for 16 November.

On 10 November, Ashok’s family announced their decision to file a case against the police officers who "framed" him. Ashok's father, Amirchand, told PTI:

Now, it is almost clear that my son Ashok was framed and made a scapegoat. We have decided to file a case against Gurgaon Police SIT officers who framed and used torture and even drugged him to confess before the media that he had committed the crime.

He said the family was seeking financial help from the villagers in filing the case.

The CBI’s probe also finds that the murder weapon – a knife – was planted on the conductor by the Gurugram police, the Times of India reported.

Class 11 Boy Apprehended For Pradyumn’s Murder

In a sensational twist to the case, the agency announced on 9 November that it had apprehended a senior student of Ryan International School on 7 November in connection with the murder of Pradyumn Thakur, rejecting the Gurugram police's theory that the killing was the handiwork of Ashok Kumar.

The CBI has said that there was no evidence against Kumar so far.

Opposition party also attacked the BJP government and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar over the "shoddy" police probe.

Ajay Yadav, a minister in erstwhile Hooda government, demanded a thorough inquiry against three DCPs and the members of the SIT who made the "poor conductor" a scapegoat. He told PTI:

Why did the SIT not quiz the 16-year-old student as he was the one who informed gardener Harpal Singh about the incident. The role of police officials should also be investigated by a higher agency such as CBI.

Haryana Congress president Ashok Tanwar said it was an overall "failure" of the Khattar government.

‘Shoddy Probe’

Seven-year-old Pradyumn Thakur was murdered on 8 September and the case was with the Gurugram police for 13 days before being taken over by the CBI.

The Gurugram Police arrested Ashok in a hurry and even Khattar congratulated the team for cracking the case the same day.

Gurugram Police Commissioner Sandeep Khairwar declared in a press meet on 10 September that Ashok was the killer and that he had tried to sexually assault Pradyumn.

Khairwar also said during the investigation that the chargesheet would be filed within 7 days of the murder.

"The case was taken over by the CBI before we concluded our investigation and came on final decision. We had arrested Ashok on the basis factual evidence," Khairwar said.

(With inputs from PTI.)

(This is a developing story and will be updated)

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