Gurugram: The probe into the murder case of Pradhyuman, a second class boy who was found dead in School’s bathroom with his throat slit, have finally been solved after two months of the killing with a class 11 student identified as the prime suspect of the murder.
It was on Pradhyuman’s father demand that the Haryana Government directed the CBI to probe the murder case.
A new source reported a senior CBI officer was quoted saying that the Class 11 student “lured Pradhyumn inside on the pretext of discussing something important, and within seconds, slit his throat”.
“Somebody was going to die that day. He came prepared that he was going to use the knife he was carrying on someone. Pradhyumn just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time,” the officer added.
The officer explained, “On September 08 morning, the accused juvenile was carrying the knife and waited in the gallery near the toilet for his prey.”
During the probe, the CBI reportedly found that the accused had boasted in front of his classmates that he would get the exam postponed so they do not need to study.
The accused who was first to inform the school gardener about the “injured boy” he reportedly went back to his class while the staff members gathered near the washroom.
The officer said: “He was late by a few minutes for the exam.”
Pradhyuman’s father now demands the 16-year-old accused to be tried as an adult in the court. He said: “From Day 1, I had serious doubts about bus conductor Ashok Kumar being the murderer.”
“The teenager apprehended by CBI should be tried as an adult” adding that the suspect should be tried as an adult as only a criminal mind could have carried out this crime.
He added that if the teenager is tried as a juvenile, the school should also be prosecuted. “I don’t buy this theory that he committed the murder to postpone exams.”
Pradhyumn’s mother Jyoti Thakur said: “We were demanding a CBI probe for exactly this reason. We were not satisfied with Gurgaon police’s probe.”
She also wanted to confront the accused she said: “We don’t know who this kid is. Perhaps Pradhyumn knew him as a student of the same school. I want to ask him why he killed my son.”
According to the CBI officials, the accused family was skeptical about revealing the correct age of the accused. He is believed to be a little older than 16 and now it is on to CBI to prove his age.
Collecting the CCTV footage and analyzing all the missing puzzles, the CBI has now successfully solved the murder.
During questioning, the boy reportedly told CBI officers: “I went blank and just did it.”
Speaking of it Advocate S S Chouhan said: “As the CBI has produced him before the juvenile court, he will be treated as one, till the Juvenile Justice Board decides to treat him as an adult,” adding, “CBI will have to prove he’s above 16 years and was capable of committing the crime on his own.”
Advocate Harish Malhotra says if the CBI successfully proves the accused is above 16 yrs, the accused will be tried as an adult, he said: “A Class XI student or a person above 16 years is capable of committing a heinous offence.”
He explained that according to the law a minor can be produced before the juvenile court and later treated as an adult after his age is proved but its very difficult to produce a teenager before an adult court and later treat him as juvenile.
“If the teenager gets convicted as a juvenile, he can be sent to a correction home for a maximum of three years,” said Malhotra.
The Parliament had passed an amendment to allow accused juveniles aged between 16-18 in heinous crimes to be tried as adults after the national outrage over Nirbhaya’s gang-rape.