WEB DESK
CBI HAS RESOLVED THE MYSTRY OF DEATH OF Pradyuman Thakur, 7, who was found with his throat slit in the toilet of Ryan International school in Gurgaon on September 8.
GURGAON: CBI sources today said that Pradyuman Thakur was murdered at the Ryan International School in Gurgaon by a senior student who wanted his exams postponed. In a stunning twist to the case that jolted the country and led to a comprehensive review of safety in schools.
A Class 11 student was detained last evening for killing Pradyuman, who was found outside a toilet near his classroom with his throat slit on September 8.
The CBI said it apprehended the Class XI Ryan International School student last night. He is said to be 16 years old. His name was not made public because he’s a minor.
According to reports the detained student is among five people seen on security footage near the toilet where Pradyuman’s body was found. He will be produced before the Juvenile Board today.
The student, reportedly under psychiatric evaluation for a year over anger issues, had been questioned several times in the past few days and his account kept changing, sources say.
Four students and a teacher have reportedly told the CBI that they saw him with a knife a day before the murder. The CBI is investigating whether it is the weapon that was found in a commode.
Before the murder, the student had allegedly bragged to his friends that the exams would be postponed and they should not bother to study. His school record shows he was “not a very good student”, officials claim.
The student’s father said he was told at midnight yesterday that his son was being detained for murder.
A schoolbus conductor seen entering the toilet on CCTV footage was arrested hours after the murder. The police had said that Ashok Kumar confessed to killing the boy after trying to sexually assault him; questions were then raised about an outsider accessing the students’ toilet. Sources say he is not off the hook yet, but the CBI is focusing on the student for now.
CCTV footage shows Pradyuman, a student of Class 2, crawling out of the bathroom after his throat had been slit. Forensic experts say his vocal cord was ruptured on the first strike and he couldn’t scream.
Pradyuman was seen collapsing next to a wall, his blood pooling around him. His body was discovered around 8 am, not long after his father dropped him off.