Ggn district court reserves verdict on schoolboy murder
14 May 2018 6:17 PM GMT
Gurugram: May 21 may prove to be a significant date in the Gurugram schoolboy murder case, as a district court is likely to deliver its verdict on whether the juvenile accused of murdering an eight-year-old in the washroom of a private school last year will be tried as an adult.
Hearing the case here on Monday, judge Jabir Singh Kundu reserved his judgement on the three petitions. The court also gave additional time to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to submit its supplementary charge-sheet.
Last year, on December 20, the Juvenile Justice Board had announced that the juvenile accused, a Class XI student, will be tried as an adult.
The order was significant as it ensured that the boy, if convicted, will not serve the usual punishment of three years, as is the norm for juveniles.
However, if found guilty, he will also not be given a harsher sentence, such as life imprisonment or death, as Section 21 of the Juvenile Justice Act prohibits it.
As per the new law, passed by the Parliament in January 2016, the juvenile if convicted could serve a maximum of 10 to 15 years behind bars.
Ever since the shocking incident of the eight-year-old boy, referred to as Prince, found murdered in the washroom of the Gurugram school came to light, the case has witnessed several twist and turns.
Initially, the Gurugram police had arrested a bus conductor Ashok Kumar in the case and claimed that he slit the throat of Class II student, after he was unable sexually assault the boy.
However, unimpressed by the Gurugram police claims, the family of Prince continued to be persistent and demanded for a CBI-monitored probe.
The Haryana government finally relented to the pressure, and allowed CBI to take over the case.
Even after the CBI took over the case, there was no end to controversies, as the legal team of Barun Thakur – Prince's father – protested after the school was allowed to open before the CBI began its investigation.
Eventually, the sexualassault-cum-murder theory of Gurugram police fell flat, as CBI found that the juvenile accused had murdered Pradyuman so that an upcoming exam and the subsequent parent-teacher meeting could be postponed.
Moreover, Ashok Kumar was later found innocent and acquitted.
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