The 16-year-old Ryan International School student accused of murdering his junior — Pradhyuman Thakur — will be tried as an adult, Juvenile Justice Board ruled on Wednesday.
Acting on a plea filed by the victim’s father, the board said that the accused was mature enough to know the consequences of his actions and hence should not be treated as a juvenile delinquent.
In the order that extends to 18 pages, the board observed that Section 302 IPC has been “rightly invoked” against the teenager. The juvenile will be lodged at Observation Home, Faridabad till he turns 18.
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The juvenile’s counsel said he would soon challenge the order in sessions court.
The Class 11 student is accused of slitting the throat of 7-year-old Class 2 student Pradhyuman Thakur in the school toilet on September 8.
Earlier, the Gurgaon Police had arrested Ashok Kumar — a bus conductor in the school — pinning the blame of murder on him. However, the CBI later apprehended the senior student in connection with Pradhuman’s murder, rejecting the Gurgaon Police theory that it was Kumar who had murdered Thakur.
The victim’s family expressed satisfaction, saying that they were fighting to set a precedent so that the killing spree by kids would stop.
After the ruling, Pradhyuman’s father Varun Thakur told ANI,
I thank the judiciary for the decision. We always knew that the journey is long but we will go till the end to get justice for my child and all other children who might be vulnerable.
