Ryan case: CBI probing destruction of evidence
The agency did not find any evidence against bus conductor Ashok Kumar, who was the Gurgaon police's sole accused in the killing.
New Delhi: After apprehending a Class 11 student of Ryan International School, Gurgaon, for allegedly killing seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur of the same school, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is now trying to ascertain the identity of the individuals who allegedly ‘attempted to destroy the evidence after the sensational murder’.
Sources in the agency said, “A case of destruction of evidence is also being investigated by the agency. The CBI sleuths are now trying to ascertain the identity of the individuals, if any, who allegedly attempted to destroy the evidence. Destruction of evidence by certain individuals cannot be ruled out”.
If required, the sleuths may conduct lie-detector test on certain individuals in this regard, sources said adding that the CBI’s investigation is at a crucial stage.
Pradyuman was murdered on September 8 inside the Ryan International School. He was found dead with his throat slit inside the school’s washroom within an hour after his father dropped him at school that morning. The gruesome murder of the Class 2 student triggered a nation-wide furore.
The Class 11 student, who was apprehended by the CBI, allegedly committed the crime as he wanted to get a scheduled parent teacher meeting (PTM) and an examination postponed, claimed the CBI.
The agency did not find any evidence against bus conductor Ashok Kumar, who was the Gurgaon police’s sole accused in the killing. The CBI’s findings will be a major embarrassment for the Gurgaon police, which had blamed Kumar and alleged that he was waiting in the toilet with a knife. The Gurgaon police had formed 14 SIT teams to find the accused.
Kumar, a resident of Ghamdoj village in Sohna, was hired by a school bus contractor around seven months before the killing. “Now that they have arrested the accused student, it has been proven that the doubts that we had about the police probe was right,” Pradyuman’s father Varun Thakur had said after detention made by the CBI in this case.
“The CBI was able to piece together elements of the crime by analysing the CCTV footage, scientific and forensic examination, analysis of the crime scene and by questioning students, teachers and staff of the school. The call detail records of all the suspects were also scrutinised,” sources said.
Earlier, a CBI team once again visited the school on Friday and questioned the teachers and other staff in connection with the crime, and the sequence of events before and after the body of Pradyuman was found.
The agency will also identify the individuals, if any, who allegedly helped the apprehended student in procuring knife used in the commission of crime, sources said.