Pradyuman’s ‘killer’ teen told classmate to gear up for days off

Boy was 16 at time of his arrest by CBI in November 2017 | Representational image

CBI says the 16-year-old class XI student of Ryan International School told his friend not to prepare for exams, that he had “made arrangements”.

New Delhi: Soon after allegedly slitting seven-year-old Pradyuman’s throat, the class XI student of Ryan International School accused of killing him cleaned up the bathroom, flushed the knife, and went straight to his friend to tell him to not study for exams and instead prepare for days off.

The 16-year-old reportedly boasted to his friend that he had “made arrangements” to reschedule the school exams and the parent teacher meeting. Minutes later, Pradyuman’s body was recovered from the bathroom, and the school was shut for the next few weeks, pending investigation by the Gurugram police.

In the course of examining 125 teachers and students, the CBI came across this friend, who told investigators that the teenager carried a knife to school. When probed further, it was revealed that the teenager had anger issues, and was also undergoing treatment for it.

“His friend and a few other classmates were called for questioning. We were told that the teenager had promised that he would get the exams and parent teacher meeting postponed. He also told his friend that 9 September will be a holiday,” a CBI official told ThePrint.

“We then checked his background and found that he often picked fights in school, and carried a knife. When we checked his academic record, his teachers told us that he was weak in studies. This brought him on our radar and we started finding clues.”

The CBI then called the teenager in for questioning, and closely examined the CCTV footage recovered from the school.

“The footage shows the teenager going towards the washroom. When we questioned the teenager, he did not give coherent answers. He even changed his statement,” the official said.

“When we confronted him with the statements by his classmate and probed deeper, he confessed to the crime. He then revealed that he did it to get the exams and parent teacher meeting rescheduled.”

After committing the murder, the teenager reportedly went around with a school teacher and the gardener to look for first aid for Pradyuman, before he was finally taken to hospital.

Father’s counter-claims

The teenager’s father, however, told ThePrint that his son was innocent, and that he had shown no signs of having committed a murder. Even after the school reopened, the teenager was regular to school, he claimed.

“He was preparing for his exams and was going to school all this while. If he had killed Pradyuman, wouldn’t he be scared of going back?” the father questioned.

“He is being framed. He was called for questioning by CBI four times, and we cooperated each time. Yesterday, we were told that he has been arrested,” he added.