Facing backlash over carrying out a botched-up investigation in the Ryan International School murder case, the Gurugram Police on Thursday said there was no pressure on them and they made an honest attempt to bring justice to the victim's family. "We had carried out an investigation at a very early stage and then we handed it over to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which I am hopeful will bring culprits to book and bring justice to the family," Gurugram Police Commissioner Sandeep Kherwal was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. "There was no pressure at all. We did an honest attempt to bring justice to the family," he added. The police commissioner further claimed they had not concluded the investigation in the case and had not done a specific role attribution. Yesterday, giving a sensational twist to the case, the CBI announced that it had apprehended a senior student of Ryan International School on Tuesday night in connection with the murder of seven-year-old student Pradyuman Thakur, thereby rejecting the Gurugram Police's theory that the killing was the alleged handiwork of school bus conductor Ashok Kumar. The agency also said so far, there was no evidence against Kumar. The CBI also told the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) in Gurugram that the Class XI student of the same school, who has been apprehended for allegedly killing Pradyuman, has confessed to his crime in front of his father and an independent witness. The CBI claimed before the JJB that confession made by the boy was recorded in the presence of his father, a welfare officer of the CBI and independent witnesses. According to the agency, the Class 11 student, believed to be weak in his studies, allegedly slit Pradyuman's throat to get the school declare a holiday in order to defer a scheduled parent-teacher meeting (PTM) and an examination. Pradyuman was found dead inside the school washroom on the morning of September 8. His body was discovered by fellow school students with his throat slit and a knife near his body. The Gurugram Police had initially arrested the school bus conductor alleging that he had tried to sodomise the victim and later killed him when he raised an alarm. The case was later transferred to the CBI by the Haryana government.
