Gurgaon: In a major twist in the murder of Pradyuman Thakur, who was found dead in the toilet of Ryan International School in Gurgaon in September, a class XI student from the same school has been apprehended by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
"The Class XI student, who was apprehended on Tuesday, allegedly committed the crime as he wanted to get a scheduled parent teacher meeting and an examination postponed," a CBI spokesperson said.
The weapon used in the crime has been seized.
"We have come to the conclusion on the basis of CCTV, forensic evidence and scientific evidence. The student has been apprehended. He remains our prime suspect," the spokesperson said.
The juvenile student, who is about 16 years old, was apprehended on Tuesday night and his parents were kept in the loop all through, the agency said.
He was apprehended on Tuesday evening and is expected to be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board on Wednesday, which will take a call on whether to treat him as a minor or major under the amended JJ Act (2016).
The CBI on Wednesday demanded custody of juvenile student arrested in connection with the Pradyuman murder.
They also said that no sexual assault theory came out during their initial investigation.
"The CBI arrested my son last night (Tuesday). He has not committed the crime, he informed gardener and teachers," said father of the student who was arrested on Tuesday.
According to reports, the CBI picked up the Class XI student from Sohna Road at around 11 pm on Tuesday.
The recent arrest in Pradyuman's murder case comes a day after the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Ryan International Group CEO Ryan Pinto, and his parents, founding chairman Augustine Pinto and managing director Grace Pinto.
Seven-year-old Pradyuman was found with his throat slit in the washroom of the school on September 8, following which school bus conductor Ashok Kumar was arrested.
Kumar later confessed to the crime but his family and friends maintained that he was being framed.
The murder sparked nation-wide outrage with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) introducing new school safety guidelines. The Board said onus for safety and security of children in school campus shall solely lie upon the school authorities.
With inputs from PTI.
