Pradhyumn's father wants minor suspect to be tried as an adult, seeks strictest punishment

NEW DELHI: The parents of Gurugram schoolboy Pradhyumn Thakur on Wednesday demanded that a Class 11 student accused of murdering their seven-year-old son should be tried as an adult and given the harshest punishment.

"We demand strict punishment for him, he should be tried as an adult and hanged," said Sushil Tekriwal, lawyer representing Pradyumn's family, at a press briefing.



The CBI had arrested the 16-year-old Ryan International student late on Tuesday night for allegedly killing Pradhyumn inside a toilet in the school premises on September 8. According to the agency, the high school boy had planned the murder to get the school to declare a holiday in order to postpone a scheduled parent-teacher meeting and an examination.

The Class 11 student was remanded to a three-day CBI custody by the Juvenile Justice Court in Gurugram on Wednesday.

Moreover, the CBI found no evidence against bus conductor Ashok Kumar, who had "confessed" to the crime while the case had been under investigation by the Gurugram Police. Kumar's family and friends had claimed that he was being made into a scapegoat by the authorities.

Lashing out at the Gurugram Police for its bungled probe, Pradhyumn's father Varun Thakur said he had no faith in the local cops and had wanted a CBI investigation into the murder from the very beginning.

'Larger conspiracy behind murder'

Thakur also reiterated his belief that there was a larger conspiracy behind his son's murder, which had led to the framing of the bus conductor to shield the real culprits.

"We still believe there was a larger conspiracy. The CBI has not yet given a clean chit to the Pinto family," said Tekriwal, referring to the Pinto family, which owns Ryan Group of Institutions.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court had granted interim bail to the Pintos, who were named as accused in the murder case after the CBSE charged that the heinous crime took place due to the "negligence" of the school administration.

My son is innocent: Accused's father

Meanwhile, the father of the 16-year-old accused proclaimed his son's innocence and said they had been cooperating with the police from day one.

"My son didn't do anything. He informed the gardener and teachers after finding Pradhyumn's body. He stayed in the school the entire day, and appeared for the exam. There was not even a single spot of blood on my son's clothes," the father told a news channel.

The CBI maintained that the minor student was their prime suspect and the arrest was made after a thorough investigation was conducted based on scientific evidences, including inspection of the scene of crime, forensic analysis, analysis of CCTV and call records.

(With inputs from PTI)