Villagers protest over rape-murder of 5-year-old
Hundreds of villagers, primarily women, blocked the road connecting Falakata in Alipurduar district today to protest the alleged rape and murder of a five-year-old girl.
Ashok Kumar, the bus conductor who was initially accused of murdering Class 2 student Pradyuman Thakur of Ryan International School in Gurugram, was released from the Bhondsi jail on Wednesday.
The 35-year-old father of two was lodged in jail for two months.
Additional District and Session Judge Rajni Yadav granted bail to Ashok on furnishing a Rs 50,000 bail bond.
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The bail bond surety was furnished by a neighbour who pledged his car, according to media reports.
On 8 September, Class II student Pradyuman Thakur was found with his throat slit in a bathroom of Ryan International School.
Earlier in the day, the Class 11 student of Ryan International School in Bhondsi, accused of murdering Class 2 student of Pradyuman Thakur of the same school, was sent to juvenile home for 14 days by the the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the Gurugram District Court granted bail to Ashok Kumar, the bus conductor who was initially accused of murdering Class 2 student of Ryan International School in Gurugram’s Bhondsi area.
Additional District and Session Judge Rajni Yadav granted bail to Ashok on furnishing a Rs 50,000 bail bond.
Also on Tuesday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) summoned a relative of bus conductor Ashok Kumar on Tuesday. Kumar was arrested by the Haryana Police for murdering Class II student, Pradyuman Thakur, of Ryan International school in Bhondsi area of Gurugram.
Kumar’s maternal uncle OP Chopra was summoned after the CBI obtained audio clips in which he is heard saying: “We will put it on the school authorities. Let the situation mellow down.” The audio clips went viral on the social media.”
In the audio clip, Chopra is also heard talking to a relative of the juvenile arrested on November 7 for allegedly committing the crime: “Let me get my nephew released first, after that we will find a way for you and put the whole blame on the school authorities.”
The bail plea of bus conductor Ashok Kumar, who was initially accused of murdering seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur, a student of Ryan International School in Gurugram, was heard by a local court on Monday. The court has reserved its order till Tuesday.
According to Mohit Verma, counsel for Kumar, the CBI has not been able to present any evidence against Ashok. “DNA has not matched with the blood sample of the killer’s blood which was found on Pradyuman’s clothes,” said Verma.
The CBI on Monday submitted the DNA report in court. It stated that Kumar’s blood sample does not match the blood sample of the killer’s blood which was found on Pradyuman’s clothes.
In court, the CBI said as the investigation is still underway, and nobody has been given a clean chit. The court heard arguments from both sides and reserved its order until 3 pm on Tuesday.
ALSO READ: Pradyuman killed by school senior: Murder case timeline
Kumar family allege torture by police
The family of the bus conductor had earlier said that Kumar was allegedly tortured by the Haryana Police and was made to confess to Pradyuman’s murder under ‘duress’.
Haryana Police arrested Kumar few hours after Pradyuman’s body was discovered in the school’s bathroom. Police had also claimed that Kumar brought a knife from the bus tool box and threw it into the toilet after the murder.
On 23 September, the CBI took custody of the bus conductor, who as per the Haryana Police had killed the child after a failed bid to sodomise the victim.
CBI arrest school senior for ‘murder’
The investigation into Pradyuman’s murder took a dramatic twist on 8 November, when the CBI arrested the Class 11 student, also of Ryan International School, and charged him with murdering the young boy in the school washroom.
According to the CBI investigation, the juvenile committed the murder in a bid to postpone the school’s scheduled examinations and parent-teacher meetings.
Varun Thakur, the father of the victim, has moved the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) requesting the 16-year-old accused be treated as an adult during trial. His plea will be heard by the board on November 22.
Earlier, Pradyuman’s father had alleged that Haryana Cabinet Minister Rao Narbir Singh told the family not to demand a CBI inquiry and spoke strongly against a probe by the agency.
(With agency inputs)
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