Ryan International murder case story so far: Accused sent to remand; Boy's parents want death penalty

CBI didn’t present Class XI student to be tried as an adult in case: Defence Lawyer

The defence lawyer has claimed that the CBI has not yet moved a formal plea that the accused be tried as an adult, under the new law. The defence also claimed that the charges are false and the Class XI student is being falsely implicated.

CBI gets 3-day remand of accused juvenile, but conditions apply*

The juvenile court has declined CBI’s request for a six-day custody and granted them a three-day remand instead. The court also observed that since the accused is a juvenile, certain set of conditions should be followed in interrogation. 

• The interrogation can only be carried out between 10 am and 6 pm and the accused should be sent to the juvenile home after that
• The teenager’s parents and a social worker must accompany him for the interrogations.

CBI gets 3-day remand of accused Class XI student; parents demand trial as adult, death penalty

Recap: The Story So Far

• In a fresh twist to the case, CBI arrested a Class XI student last night, the same boy who had first found Pradyuman and informed the gardener.
• Based on CCTV footage, CBI concluded that the 16-year-old left the toilet 3 minutes after Pradyuman entered
• The accused did not take the usual route to his class and did not meet any school staffer until 30 minutes after the he first reported about finding Pradyuman. 
• CBI says Ashok has not been cleared completely. They will probe his role in destroying evidence
• Accused was produced in a juvenile court today. CBI sought a 6-day custody and pleaded that the accused be treated as adult as the murder qualified as a heinous crime. Ruling is expected shortly.

No evidence against conductor: CBI

The CBI said it did not find any evidence against bus conductor Ashok Kumar, who was the Gurgaon Police’s sole accused in the gruesome killing. The murder weapon, a knife, was found in the commode of the toilet where the killing allegedly took place, said CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal.

It was the same knife seized by the Gurugram Police, he said.  

Kumar, a resident of Ghamdoj village in Sohna, was hired by a school bus contractor around seven months before the killing. Villagers in Ghamdoj had said Kumar had been framed and he had no previous history of being involved in any crime.

Accused student interrogated four times; he denied involvement every time

The CBI sources have told CNN-News 18 that the accused student was grilled four times and each time he denied his involvement. The sources said that when he was confronted with the facts he later confessed that he had killed the 8-year-old child to get the exams postponed and avoit a parents-teacher meeting. The accused was a below average student who did poorly in his exams and excelled at only music.

CBI seeks 6-day custody of accused Class XI student; juvenile court’s order expected at 5pm

Accused Class XI student was earlier spotted with a knife

CNN-News 18 reported said that the accused Class XI student was seen carrying a knife to the student, which he might have flushed in the toilet after the attack.

CBI accuses 16-year-old student of murder but bus conductor Ashok still not in clear

The CBI has accused a Class XI student, who it said was under treatment for anger issues, for Pradyuman Thakur’s murdered. The investigation agency said that the teenager was trying to pose as an informer and initially denied wrongdoing. 

However, Ashok, who was earlier charged with the crime is still not in the clear. CBI has said they will investigate his role in destruction of evidence, and apprise the Gurgaon court of their findings. The court will decide on his fate later.

Class XI boy reaches juvenile court; CBI to argue that accused be tried as adult

#RyanClass11Twist | Case will be decided by JJB under new law. CBI to make plea that it should be treated as a normal case: CBI sources pic.twitter.com/FLLEiOEv6f

— News18 (@CNNnews18) November 8, 2017

Watch: How CBI investigation proceeded in the case

#RyanClass11Twist | Class 11 boy was poor in studies. He used to play piano. He used to bunk classes: CBI sources pic.twitter.com/CS7P1lC2P2

— News18 (@CNNnews18) November 8, 2017

How a 16-year-old boy became a prime murder accused from being the first key eyewitness

The 16-year-old class 11 student found himself at the middle of the mysterious murder case since the start. Reportedly, he was the first person who noticed Pradyuman after the attack and alerted the teachers and the school staff. However, as CBI swooped in on the lose ends and evidence in the case, it revealed that a previously ignored CCTV footage showed the 16-year-old chaperoned Pradyuman in the toilet, where he was found murdered. 

The CBI also claims that the teenager frequently changed his statements on thorough interrogation and was doing poorly in studies.

Bus conductor Ashok claims Gurugram Police forced him to confess; CBI says have proof that cops botched up probe

Ashok, the bus conductor who was charged with Pradyuman Thakur’s murder earlier, had said that the Gurugram police had forced him to sign on blank paper and they constructed his statement. He claimed that the statement to media was also made under duress. 

Barun Thakur, Pradyuman’s father has said that he had doubted the police’s version of events since the start and now he hopes that justice would be delivered after a meticulous probe. 

Reports now suggest that the CBI may probe a possible Ryan International School-Gurugram Police nexus in the murder case. CNN-News18 quoted CBI sources as saying that the police may have also tried to destroy the evidence.

Watch: Statement of Pradyuman’s mother on fresh twist in case

#RyanClass11Twist | I believe we will get justice. No one know what was in that child’s mind: Pradyuman’s mother to CNN-News18 pic.twitter.com/JMTP8JxNBK

— News18 (@CNNnews18) November 8, 2017

Heavy security outside juvenile court ahead of court hearing

Heavy police deployment was seen outside the juvenile court in Sohna road area in Gurugram. The arrested teenager is set to arrive in a short while.

‘My son never knew Pradyuman Thakur,’ says accused boy’s father

Speaking to various news channels, the father of the accused child has said that his son never knew Pradyuman Thakur. He said that the 16-year-old boy went to school to write an exam and had no previous acquaintance with the murdered child, several years his junior. He claimed that their were no stains on his son’s clothes and all the teachers and school staffs can be asked about the same.

Parents of other students finding it ‘difficult’ to believe bus conductor’s version

The murder took place during the morning assembly when several children tend to visit the toilet before getting into their classes. This makes it possible for an outsider like a bus conductor to walk in and kill the child with a knife. Moreover, parents of several school students, including Pradyuman Thakur’s, are finding it difficult to believe the statement made by the bus conductor. It is also important to note that once the case was handed over to the CBI, the investigation took a completely different turn.

Ashok Kumar still in jail, not been given a clean chit, say CBI sources

Ashok Kumar, the school bus conductor who was initially accused of murdering Pradyuman, is still in jail. As per a statement released by the CBI on Wednesday, Ashok hasn’t been given a clean chit yet.

Moreover, Pradyuman’s parents have also been blaming the CBI of shielding the main accused.

After the incident, the Haryana police arrested two senior officials (regional and HR heads) of the administration of the Ryan International School. To evade the possibility of arrest, the Ryan management had even submitted an anticipatory bail plea in the Punjab-Haryana High Court.

Pradyuman’s father hopeful of justice

Pradyuman’s father Varun Thakur had earlier told Firstpost that he is happy with the way the courts are approaching the case and that he believes that justice will be done. The Supreme Court took a tough stand by the issuing notices to the HRD ministry, CBI, CBSE as well the Haryana government regarding the murder of the seven-year-old boy. “We had demanded that a commission be constituted to investigate further, which would also establish the accountability of the school’s management," he said.

Can 16-year-old accused be tried as an adult?

According to the Juvenile Justice Act, if a minor in the age group of 16 to 18 years commits a “heinous” crime, he/she may be tried as an adult based on the Juvenile Justice Board’s assessment, the CNN-News18 has reported.

Father of juvenile accused says CBI ‘framed’ his son

Father of the teenaged boy who is in CBI custody and charged with murdering Pradyuman has accused the CBI of “framing” his son in the crime. He revealed that after interrogating him for 12 hours at the CBI headquarters, the boy was declared as the prime accused in the case. He further stated that on the day of the incident, his son had an exam which he wrote. He added that the boy came home with no blood stains on his shirt. However, as per sources in the CBI, the boy has already confessed to the crime. The boy will be produced in the juvenile court at 2 pm today.

Union Cabinet minister Maneka Gandhi says it’s ‘sad’ that the wrong people were implicated

#EXCLUSIVE Sad that wrong people are implicated. Media had intense desire to catch the culprit: Maneka Gandhi to @Zebaism #RyanClass11Twist pic.twitter.com/DmeQhiU0NK

— News18 (@CNNnews18) November 8, 2017

Arrested juvenile student had first reported Pradyuman’s death

Sources have told Firstpost that the Class XI student who was arrested for the murder of seven-year-old Pradhyuman Thakur, was the first to report the murder to the school’s gardener. In the last two months, sources have revealed that the boy has been interrogated over a dozen times. The CBI has also conducted crime scene reconstruction exercises with him and his arrest was made after CCTV footage established that the boy chaperoned Pradyuman to the toilet, where his throat was slit.

CBI says it apprehended student after ’thorough investigation’

After thorough investigation based on scientific evidences incl. inspection of scene of crime, forensic analysis, analysis of CCTV & call records, CBI apprehended the student: CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal on #Pradyuman murder case pic.twitter.com/W1IuOl5dYT

— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2017

Gurugram police should be punished, says bus conductor’s wife Mamta

Mamta, the wife of Ashok, the school bus conductor who was originally charged with Pradhyuman’s murder, has said her husband was “tortured and assaulted” by the police. “Who will compensate us for this harassment? The Gurugram police should be punished for this,” she said.

Bus conductor Ashok liable to sue Gurugram police, says lawyer

School bus conductor Ashok is liable to sue the Gurugram police and charge them with defamation when his innocence is established, his lawyer Mohit Verma has claimed. Verma said he will wait for the CBI’s report to be filed before deciding on a future course of action.

He also said that they would file a bail application for Ashok on Thursday at a Gurugram court.

Haryana cops to wait for CBI chargesheet

Haryana DGP BS Sandhu has said the police will decide on the future course of action after the CBI submits its chargesheet.

My son was beaten and forced to confess, says bus conductor Ashok’s mother

#EXCLUSIVE -- My son was beaten. He was asked to admit to the crime: Conductor's mother to @DeepaSinghSays #RyanClass11Twist pic.twitter.com/KzmHBSyg8t

— News18 (@CNNnews18) November 8, 2017

Mamta, wife of school bus conductor Ashok, with the family’s relatives and neighbours

Why did cops not identify other students seen in CCTV footage, asks conductor Ashok’s lawyer

Lawyer of Ashok, the school bus conductor originally arrested by the Gurugram Police, has asked why did the cops not try and identify students who could be seen walking behind the victim in the CCTV footage procured from the school.

16-year-old boy had ‘promised’ friends that exams will be cancelled, sources claim

The CBI has charged the 16-year-old boy with murder based on the statements given by three of his “best friends” who studied in the same class. The juvenile accused had reportedly promised them on the day of the incident that “exams will not be conducted”.

If CBI now recovered murder weapon, what did the police recover from Ashok, conductor’s lawyer asks

Ashok Kumar, the school conductor who was originally arrested for the murder of Pradhyuman Thakur, still hasn’t received a “clean chit”, the CBI has said. But his defence counsel Mohit Verma was quoted by Team 101Reporters as asking, “If CBI had recovered the weapon used in the crime, then what was the weapon that the police officials had recovered earlier and claimed it to be the murder weapon?”

CBI to produce Class XI boy in Sohni court at 2 pm

The arrested minor will be produced at 2 pm in front a Juvenile court in Sohna, CBI sources have been quoted as saying by Team 101 Reporters.

How did my son kill Pradhyuman if he didn’t have a single drop of blood on him, asks father of arrested juvenile accused

Father of Class XI student apprehended by the CBI told India Today that his son was “forced” to sign a confessional statement. “We have cooperated with the police all along. I was still made to wait at the police station all day long. Finally at midnight, they told me I can leave only after he signs a confession. My son told the gardener and teachers about the dead body, that was his only fault. How can the CBI claim my son killed Pradhyuman when there was not a drop of blood on him or his clothes?” the father asked.

16-year-old student remains ‘prime suspect’, his parents are in the loop: CBI

The 16-year-old student was apprehended late on Tuesday night and his parents were kept in the loop all through, the agency said. “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 spokesperson said.

CCTV footage led to CBI’s conclusion

CBI has concluded that Pradhyuman was killed by a Class XI student based on CCTV footage found from the school’s premises.

Arrested Class XI boy was ‘mentally disturbed’, say sources

The Class XI boy arrested for the murder of Pradhyuman Thakur is a commerce student, and sources from the school have alleged that he is mentally disturbed.

Arrested Class XI student had ‘anger management’ issues, say cops

CBI claims the Class XI boy it has arrested had “anger management issues”, and had brought a knife to school in the past as well. They have also said the boy was undergoing psychiatric treatment. A knife had also been recovered from Ryan International School’s toilet.

Ashok innocent, framed by school authories, says bus conductor’s family

Bus conducted Ashok’s family have said he was “framed” by the investigating agencies and forced to confess to the murder of 6-year-old Pradhyuman. “He was arrested due to undue pressure exerted on them by the school authorities,” CNN-News18 has quoted Ashok’s family as saying.

Bus conductor Ashok was beaten up, given injection: Conductor’s wife

#RyanClass11Twist -- Ashok was framed due to pressure from school. He was beaten up and given injection: Conductor's wife to CNN-News18 pic.twitter.com/DD5G0e7XSL

— News18 (@CNNnews18) November 8, 2017

CBI to probe possible Ryan International School-Haryana Police nexus in the murder case

The Haryana Police has been left red-faced as the CBI has apprehended the Class XI student in the Ryan International School murder case. When asked about the earlier arrest of the bus conductor in the case, the Haryana DGP said, “Koi baat nahi (It’s alright). Now the investigation will go wherever the CBI probe goes.”

No clean chit to bus conductor: CBI

No clean chit to arrested conductor: CBI on #Pradyuman murder case

— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2017

No sexual assault theory during our probe: CBI

According to ANI, CBI rejected the angle of sexual assault in the case. The CBI will also demand custody of the juvenile accused in the case.

Conflicting reports emerge about whether there was sexual assault involved in the case

According to IANS, the detained student is suspected of having watched a pornographic clip in the morning, and on seeing Pradhuman Thakur in the school bathroom, he might have tried to sexually assault him when he entered it, minutes after he was dropped by his father. The senior student was also seen with a knife inside the school campus on the day the seven-year-old was killed.

On the other hand, an earlier  News18 report  had claimed that the doctor who conducted the autopsy in the case said that Pradyuman was not sexually assaulted. “The second point that came out in the report is that the child died due to excessive bleeding. There was no sexual assault on the minor and no semen marks were found on his school dress,” the report quoted Dr Deepak Mathur as saying.

#EXCLUSIVE CBI said my son has murdered Pradyuman. But it is not true, he is innocent:Father of detained boy to CNN-News18 #RyanClass11Twist pic.twitter.com/uRJ9Z7hLJa

— News18 (@CNNnews18) November 8, 2017

CBI issues statement, says it has ‘apprehended a child in conflict with law’

“CBI has apprehended a child in conflict with law, a student of senior class at Ryan International School (Sohna Road, Gurugram) in an ongoing case relating to murder of a 7-year-old boy,” ANI quoted the agency as saying. “Initial investigation revealed the child in conflict of law wanted to have the examination and parent teacher meeting in school postponed,” the statement further said.

Hearing in juvenile court at around 2 pm

#BREAKING -- Hearing in Ryan murder case in Juvenile court at 2 PM | #RyanClass11Twist pic.twitter.com/SzfX1zno3H

— News18 (@CNNnews18) November 8, 2017

My child did not murder the young boy: Class XI student’s father

“I sympathise with the child who was murdered. But I am also against injustice against any other child. My child did not murder the young boy,” the Class XI student’s father said.

My son has not committed the crime: Father of Class XI student

They (CBI) arrested my son last night. My son has not committed the crime, he informed gardener and teachers: Father of student arrested by CBI in Pradyuman murder case pic.twitter.com/Aw6ujjZ8OY

— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2017

#RyanClass11Twist – Entire batch of Class 11 was questioned. CBI couldn’t zero in on juvenile due to hazy footage: Inside Details pic.twitter.com/GS955zKxYw

— News18 (@CNNnews18) November 8, 2017

Class XI student may have murdered Pradyuman to get exams postponed

According to India Today , the father of the Class XI student said that investigators claimed that his murdered Pradyuman because he wanted the school exams postponed. He allegedly killed Pradyuman so that Ryan International School would declare a holiday later.

Entire batch of Class XI was questioned by CBI: CNN-News18

‘How can trustees and school authorities be held responsible?’

#RyanMurderMystery Cracked? – How can trustees and school authorities be held responsible: Nitin Pradhan, Pinto’s lawyer to CNN-News18 pic.twitter.com/pFdW706Q8I

— News18 (@CNNnews18) November 8, 2017

Pradhyuman’s parents at CBI office, being shown CCTV footage of incident: CNN-News18