Ryan student confessed to crime in front of his father: CBI

The Class 11 student of Ryan International School, apprehended by the Central Bureau of Investigation for allegedly killing a seven-year-old student, has confessed to his crime in front of his father and an independent witness, the agency has claimed before a juvenile court.

To corroborate the 16-year-old student’s statement, CBI sleuths took him to a “certain place” on Thursday, the first day of his three-day remand.

A special crime team of the CBI, which is questioning him, remained tight-lipped about the exercise, saying it could affect the probe.

The juvenile court in Gurugram on Wednesday sent the student to three days’ CBI custody. He is being kept at the Sewa Kutir, a child welfare home, at Kingsway Camp, from where he was brought to the CBI headquarters in Delhi at 10.45 in the morning.

The CBI has been directed by the court to carry on questioning for seven hours between 10 in the morning to five in the evening during the custody period.

In its note seeking his remand, the agency said that his custodial interrogation was needed to ascertain if there were other people involved in the crime.

The confession of the student has little meaning as of now as such statements need to be recorded before a court under Section 164 of the CrPC. The agency said his statement was yet to be recorded under CrPC Section 164.

CBI sources said the agency is still investigating the case and that admission of crime is just the beginning of a process of collecting corroborative forensic and legally tenable evidence.       

The agency also wants the teenager to identify the shop from where he had purchased the knife used to slit throat of Pradhyumn, a Class 2 student, on September 8, the agency told the court.

The CBI said the interrogation was needed to reconstruct the scene of crime, to unearth conspiracy, if any, and to collect any other evidence related to the case.

“He has admitted his involvement in committing the murder of... in ground floor boys washroom of Ryan International School... in presence of his father... independent witness, welfare officer of the CBI, etc,” the note said.

In a sensational twist to the case, the agency announced on Wednesday that it had apprehended a senior student of Ryan International School on Tuesday night in connection with the murder of Pradhyumn rejecting the Gurugram police’s theory that the killing was the handiwork of school bus conductor Ashok Kumar.

The CBI has said that there was no evidence against Kumar so far.

According to the agency, the Class 11 student, believed to be weak in his studies, allegedly slit Pradhyumn’s throat to get the school to declare a holiday in order to defer a scheduled parent-teacher meeting and an examination.

The agency did not find any evidence of sexual assault, a CBI spokesperson had said on Wednesday.

The CBI was able to piece together elements of the crime by analysing CCTV footage, scientific and forensic examination, analysis of the crime scene and by questioning students, teachers and staff members of the school.

Based on CCTV footage and crime scene analysis, the agency examined all potential suspects and witnesses. The list included 125 teachers and students, sources said.

Image: The 11th class student, apprehended in connection with the Pradhyumn murder case, being produced before the Juvenile Justice Board in Gurugram. Photograph: PTI Photo