Ryan case: Bus conductor's wife cries foul, hints at larger conspiracy in Pradyuman's murder

NEW DELHI / GURUGRAM: Life has been a far from a bed of roses for the family of Ashok Kumar, former bus conductor at Ryan International School in Gurugram.

On September 9, Kumar was arrested by Haryana police for the murder of seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur. At the time, both Pradyuman's family and conductor's family, alleged he's being falsely implicated.

But Haryana police, who called Kumar a pedophile, insisted on possessing solid proof to incriminate him.

Two months later, the CBI gave a clean chit to Kumar. The agency is currently is probing the angle of cops 'planting evidence' in form of blood-soaked knife in Ashok’s possession and also tortured bus driver Saurav Raghav.

Admitting their mistake in Pradyuman's murder probe, the red-faced Haryana Police said that they have erred.

For Mamata, wife of bus conductor Ashok Kumar, it's been a long struggle.

"We have been asserting for long that he is innocent. This is a conspiracy hatched by the school administration and the police. My husband was tortured by the police to extract the confession. We want proper investigation and justice," Mamata told ANI.

On September 8, Pradyuman was found dead inside the school premises with his throat slit. In the CCTV footage, the boy was seen crawling out of a toilet, leaving a trail of blood behind.

Last week, in a surprise move, the CBI arrested a 16-year-old Class 11 student of the same school.

The minor accused has confessed to killing Pradyuman, CBI said.

He has been sent to an observation home in Faridabad, where he will be kept until the next hearing in the case on November 22.