The Class XI student of Gurugram's Ryan International School, apprehended by the CBI for allegedly killing 7-year-old Pradyumn Thakur, had allegedly confessed to his crime in front of his father and independent witnesses, the agency told a juvenile court.
However, in yet another twist, a Child Protection Officer (CPO) has said that the accused claims he hasn’t killed anyone. The CPO told the Times of India that the teenager confessed because he was beaten and intimidated by the CBI.
He said he was beaten up and tortured by the investigators. The CBI didn’t let any member of the juvenile justice board to be present when the investigation was on. I have no idea if it’s normal procedure.The CPO, who requested anonymity, told TOI
Earlier, the father of the accused teen claimed he was intimidated into confessing to the crime. The teen’s father has maintained that the boy is innocent.
CBI officers had threatened to shoot his entire family if he didn’t confess to the murder. It was after this threat that he admitted to the murder.Father of the accused to TOI
An official spokesperson for the CBI, however, denied this. He said that the CBI never used these kind of tactics on anyone.
Who Killed Padyumn?
Meanwhile, member of the juvenile justice board had said that the accused had told him that he knew Pradyumn from before, as both of them attended the same piano class. He also added that it was because of that familiarity that Pradyumn had accompanied him to the ground-floor washroom on 8 September.
The father of the accused had earlier said that his son was on his way to the music room, when he heard a child vomiting and screaming from the primary washroom and had thus gone inside to investigate.
Also Read: Ryan Murder: Did CBI Tap Phones of Accused Teen’s Family?
The statements made by the teenager’s father and the CPO are in sharp contrast to the CBI statement that the boy had confessed to the crime.
In its note, seeking remand of the 16-year-old student from the juvenile court in Gurugram on 8 November, the CBI had said that his custodial interrogation was needed to ascertain if there were other people involved in the crime.
The agency also told the court that it wanted the teenager to identify the shop from where he had purchased the knife used to slit the throat of the 7-year-old.
The CBI said the interrogation was needed to reconstruct the scene of crime, to unearth conspiracy, if any, and to collect any other evidence related to the case.
He has admitted his involvement in committing the murder... in the ground floor boys’ washroom of Ryan International School... in the presence of his father... and independent witness, welfare officer of the CBI, etc.The CBI note
The court sent the juvenile to three-day CBI custody.
Also read: Accused Ryan Teen Should Be Given Death Penalty: Pradyumn’s Family
CBI Takes Teenager to a 'Certain Place' For Corroboration
The Class XI student had been taken to a "certain place" by agency sleuths on Thursday for corroboration of his statement.
A special crime team of CBI remained tight-lipped about the exercise, saying it could affect the probe.
However, sources told PTI that during questioning session between 10 am and 5 pm he was taken to a "certain place" to substantiate his statements on the activities before and after the crime.
They said the agency would go through an extensive corroborative exercise, which would include identification of person and shop who sold him the knife, crime scene recreation, etc, before filing its report in the court.
Also read: Ryan School Fails to Submit Safety Report to Government
The Mega Twist in The Murder Case
The CBI announced that it had apprehended the Class XI student of Ryan International School in connection with the murder of Pradyumn, rejecting the Gurugram police's theory that the killing was the handiwork of school bus conductor Ashok Kumar.
The agency has said that there was no evidence against Kumar so far.
Also read: Ryan Murder Case: New Developments, But Questions Still Unanswered
According to the CBI, the 16-year-old’s motive for the murder has been identified as a need to postpone his exams and an impending parent-teacher meeting as he was academically weak.
No evidence of sexual assault was found, a CBI spokesperson had said.
The CBI was able to piece together elements of the crime by analysing CCTV footage, scientific and forensic examination, analysis of the crime scene and by questioning students, teachers and staff members of the school.
Based on CCTV footage and crime scene analysis, the agency examined all potential suspects and witnesses. The list included 125 teachers and students, sources said.
(With inputs from PTI)
(This is a developing story and will be updated)
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