Pradhyumn murder case: Minor suspect's father alleges torture, CBI denies

NEW DELHI: The father of the 16-year-old Ryan International student arrested for the murder of Gurugram schoolboy Pradhyumn Thakur has charged that his son was "tortured and brutally thrashed" while in CBI custody, an allegation the investigating agency has roundly denied.
"My son is being tortured, he was hung upside down and brutally thrashed. He is completely innocent," the accused's father was quoted as saying by ANI.
A juvenile court had sent the minor to three-day CBI remand on Thursday after the investigating agency submitted that the highschooler had confessed to the murder in front of his father and an independent witness.
According to the agency, the Class 11 student 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.
Moreover, CBI sources told TOI that the young suspect had not shown any signs or "regret" or "abnormal behaviour" in front of his family or friends for almost two months after Pradhyumn's killing; nor did he discuss the incident with anyone, including his best friends.
Rubbishing the CBI's findings, the juvenile's father maintained that his son was blameless and alleged that the agency was victimizing his family.
"Do you think such a young boy would behave normally for so many days had he committed such a serious crime?" he justified.
On the matter of his son being weak in studies, the father said: "Only one PTM had happened till now and all teachers had praised my son's performance and behaviour, I have his marksheets."
Since securing custody of the suspect, CBI sleuths have taken him to a "certain place" to reconstruct the scene of crime and to collect any other evidence related to the case. The agency also wants the teenager to identify the shop from where he had purchased the knife used to slit seven-year-old Pradhyumn's throat.
Now, the Juvenile Justice Board has sought clarification from the CBI as to why it violated the timings of the minor's interrogation as set by the Gurugram juvenile court.
The CBI had 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.
The Gurugram juvenile court on Saturday ordered the teenage accused to be sent to an observation home in Faridabad till November 22, the next date of hearing in the Pradhyumn murder case.
(With inputs from Agencies)