Ryan International School murder case: Gurugram Police planted knife on bus conductor to frame him, says CBI

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing the murder of seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur, has come to the conclusion that the Gurugram Police had not only framed school bus conductor Ashok Kumar but also planted the murder weapon, a knife, on him and declared the case as closed. [caption id=“attachment_4203065” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The Class XI student arrested for Pradyuman Thakur’s murder. PTI[/caption] A report on The Times of India has said that the CBI’s investigation has revealed that the knife actually belonged to the 16-year-old Class XI student who was later detained by the central agency and accused of Pradyuman’s murder. The boy, as was reported on Thursday, has admitted his "involvement" in the death of seven-year-old Pradyuman. “The knife was bought by the juvenile from a local shop and he brought it with him inside the school. This is the only knife that was recovered, and so the claim of the Gurugram Police that Ashok Kumar brought it inside the school and used it to kill the boy has no basis whatsoever,” a CBI officer told The Times of India on condition of anonymity. The report also said that the accused guided a CBI team to the shop. “He has confessed in front of his father, an independent witness and a welfare officer of the CBI. He said that he slit Pradyuman’s throat within seconds and left the toilet. There was no resistance from Pradyuman whatsoever as he didn’t get time to react,” the officer said. This theory is completely opposite to the one initially presented by the Gurugram Police, which had said Ashok Kumar had tried to sexually assault Pradyuman, and when the seven-year-old boy tried to resist, had his throat slit. It also said he had taken the knife from the school bus’ toolkit. They had purportedly based their claim on CCTV footage, which had said he was seen leaving the school toilet at the same time that Pradyuman is said to have been killed. Given that the CBI came to its conclusion based on the same CCTV available to the police is also intriguing. “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,” the  CBI spokesperson said .