Pradyuman Thakur murder case: Juvenile accused sent to observational home until November 22

Gurgaon court orders to send juvenile to observation home

A juvenile court in Gurgaon on Saturday sent the class 11 student accused in the murder of Pradyuman Thakur at Ryan International School to observational home until November 22. CBI sources said the court has fixed the next date of hearing on November 22.

Sources said that the juvenile court has appointed an independent welfare officer to monitor the investigation and questioning of the apprehended student. They said the officer would be a completely independent entity, he will remain present during the questioning sessions and also whenever the accused is taken to a location.

The teenage accused was detained by the CBI, who said that the juvenile has confessed to killing the seven-year-old boy to get the scheduled exams and parent-teacher meeting postponed.

On the other hand, the 16-year-old’s father pleaded for his son’s innocence and alleged that his son was tortured in custody. “My son is being tortured, he was hung upside down and brutally thrashed. He is completely innocent,” the father was quoted as saying by ANI.

The CBI, however, denied all allegations of torturing the accused.

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The agency had earlier taken the teenager to identify the shop where he purportedly purchased the murder weapon and had interrogated the suspect to reconstruct the scene of the crime and collect other evidences.

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.

Sources said the CBI team reached the school along with the accused and remained there for over three hours before taking him to the juvenile court where a hearing was scheduled. The team asked him to explain the entire chain of events, that unfolded on that day as the team took various measurements and recorded time, among others, needed to commit the crime as part of a corroborative exercise, they said, adding it was done to ascertain the claims of the accused.

The CBI also cleared the school bus conductor who was earlier arrested as a suspect. The accused student was picked up from his home in Sohna on Tuesday night, CBI sources said.

(With inputs from Agencies)