New Delhi (Sputnik) — The investigation into one of India's most notorious murder cases in 2017 took an unexpected twist after the country's top probe agency detained a juvenile for murdering an seven-year-old schoolmate at the Ryan International School in Gurugram.
Initial interrogations revealed that an 11th grade student slashed the throat of Pradyman Thakur, a 2nd grade student, and left him in the school bathroom to bleed to death so that the ensuing commotion would force school authorities to postpone a parent-teacher meeting and an examination he wasn't prepared for.
Seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur was found dead with his throat slit by a sharp-edged weapon on the morning of September 8, 2017. The local police who conducted the initial investigation had arrested a school bus assistant in connection with the murder and ascertained the motive to be sexual assault.
Dayal also said the minor student was apprehended last night at 11:30 p.m. in accordance with the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act.
"We have come to the conclusion on the basis of CCTV, forensic evidence and scientific evidence. The student has been apprehended. He remains our prime suspect. His parents were kept in the loop and all measures in accordance with the Juvenile Justice Act were complied with," Dayal told reporters.
The agency has not found any evidence of sexual assault, he added.
Local media quoted an unnamed CBI official who said that that the suspect had "planned a killing on September 8" but "had not identified his target. "It was a coincidence that Pradyuman was in the restroom and became the victim of the ghastly plan hatched by the senior student."
Meanwhile, the father of the high school student told a television channel that his son was innocent and they had been cooperating with the police from day one.
"My son didn't do anything. He informed the gardener and teachers after finding Pradyuman'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 was seen as saying on CNN-News18, his face pixellated to avoid identification.
The findings of the CBI, if proven, will be a major embarrassment to the Gurugram Police, who initially laid blame on the school bus assistant, Ashok Kumar, alleging that he was seen by some students waiting outside the bathroom with a knife.
