Pradyuman Thakur was found with his throat slit in a bathroom at Ryan International School
Highlights
- Teen may have been a suspect before the case was handed over to CBI
- Evidence against the arrested teen is not strong so far: Sources
- Haryana Police earlier produced the teen in court as a witness
A Class 11 student accused of killing seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur at the Ryan International School in Gurgaon last month had been the CBI's main suspect for over a month, sources say. Six days after filing a case, the CBI or Central Bureau of Investigation searched the 16-year-old boy's home and seized "some items" that it told a court it needs to retain.
Sources say there is reason to believe the teen was a suspect in the Pradyuman murder case even before
Gurgaon police handed over the case to the CBI on September 22. In CCTV footage that was sent for "scientific analysis" after the police dubbed it as too unclear, the student is the last to leave the toilet where Pradyuman's throat was slit. He allegedly told a teacher that he saw Pradyuman "vomiting blood".
The role of another student who was with the accused teen when he informed a gardener and a teacher about the child's blood-soaked body is also being investigated, sources say.
"The CBI is verifying how the second boy came to know. It is part of trying to establish the sequence of events," sources say.
But evidence against the arrested student is not strong so far, sources say.
The owner of the knife shop where he allegedly bought the murder weapon did not confirm selling it to the boy.
The shop owner reportedly told investigators he "does not remember who he sold the knife to".
The detained student will also be taken to the school as investigators try to reconstruct the crime.
The CBI has told a Juvenile Court that the teen confessed to the crime in the presence of his father, independent witnesses and a social welfare board member. The motive, apparently, was to delay an exam.
The Haryana police had produced the student in court not as a suspect but as a witness.
On September 8, Pradyuman, a Class 2 student, was found with his throat slashed some 15 minutes after he and his older sister were dropped off by their father in the morning.
Seven hours later, the police declared that the killer was schoolbus conductor Ashok Kumar - seen on security video - and he murdered Pradyuman after trying to sexually assault him. The police had claimed that they recovered the knife from him, but CBI sources say a knife could have been planted.
Ashok Kumar, who has been in jail since then in the Pradyuman murder case,
has applied for bail.