Pradyuman murder case: 17-year-old accused to be tried as an adult

Juvenile Justice Board in Gurugram has transferred the case to District And Sessions Court where hearing will begin from Friday.

File photo

New Delhi: The 17-year-old student of Ryan International School in Gurgaon who has been accused of murdering Class II student Pradyuman will be tried in court as an adult.

Pradyuman's family had appealed that the juvenile accused be tried as an adult while his bail application was rejected by a Gurugram court last week. On Wednesday, Juvenile Justice Board in Gurugram transferred the case to District And Sessions Court where hearing will begin from Friday.

During subsequent proceedings the convict will be considered as an adult: Sushil Tekriwal, lawyer of Pradyuman's family #PradyumanMurderCase pic.twitter.com/MsgxjaDFp8 — ANI (@ANI) December 20, 2017

Pradyuman's father expressed satisfaction at the decision to treat the accused as an adult and said the case should be an example to those who commit crimes against minors. "We had appealed that the juvenile should be tried as an adult and the application was accepted. I welcome the decision. Crimes against children are on the rise and this case should be a landmark," said Varun Thakur.

The juvenile's family however has been claiming that their child is being framed to hide the real conspiracy behind the matter. 

The Central Bureau of Investigation has contended that the probe is still on and they are still interrogating to find the details of the murder.

Pradyuman was found with his throat slit in the washroom of Ryan International School on September 8. The class 11 suspect hailing from the same school is accused of murdering Pradyuman in a bid to create a situation whereby the upcoming examinations would get postponed.

The accused student, who is the son of an advocate, earlier informed his interrogators in his six hours questioning that minutes after killing Pradyuman, he had informed a gardener and a teacher, saying "a boy was lying injured in the toilet of the school premises".

The CBI's stunning revelation had derailed the Haryana Police version of the gory crime which led to the arrest of a school bus conductor, Ashok Kumar. Pradyuman's family had always insisted that the conductor was being framed.