Class 11 Ryan student under lens for a month'

New Delhi: The Class 11 student, apprehended by the CBI in connection with the murder of seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur at Ryan International School, “had been the agency’s prime suspect for over a month.”

According to sources, six days after registering the case, the CBI conducted searches at the residential premise of the apprehended student on September 28 and seized ‘certain items.’ Refusing to divulge the details of the seized items, the agency sought permission from the trial court to retain the same. The CBI was granted permission to retain the seized items by the competent court in Gurgaon.

Pradyuman was murdered on September 8 at Ryan International School. He was found dead inside the school’s washroom, with his throat slit, within an hour of his father having dropped him at the school that morning. The gruesome murder of the Class 2 student triggered a nation-wide furore.

Sources further said, “Although the Class 11 student had planned a killing on September 8, the accused had not identified his target. It was a coincidence that Pradyuman reached the toilet and became a victim of the ghastly plan hatched by the senior student. The investigation is still on. The crime was committed in just three to four minutes.”

In a CCTV footage, the apprehended student can be seen as the last to leave the toilet where Pradyuman’s throat was slit. Sources said that the accused allegedly told a teacher that he had seen Pradyuman vomiting blood.

Sources added that the agency is also probing the role of another student, who was reportedly with the apprehended student when he informed a gardener and a teacher about the child’s blood-soaked body. They added that the CBI is also probing the role of certain Haryana police officials who had investigated the case initially.