Twist in Ryan School murder case illustrates investigative illiteracy of State police forces
First and foremost, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should be commended for a thorough investigation of the murder of Pradyuman Thakur, a seven-year-old child whose throat was slit minutes after he was dropped off at Ryan International School in Gurugram a few months ago. If the CBI is indeed right, and the child was killed by a senior who wanted to get the upcoming examinations postponed as its investigation suggests, that is a very troubling sign indeed. But most importantly, if this teenager did murder Pradyuman it keeps an innocent man out of prison, an innocent man whom the Gurugram police claimed had “confessed” to the murder.
Ashok Kumar, who was vilified not just by police but also by the media as a monster. The latter also gave credence to persistent rumours that he might have tried to assault the child as well. A mea culpa from the media corps is in order, though unlikelyto be forthcoming; in fact, this case, much like the completely bungled investigation into the Aarushi Talwar murder, is more evidence that State police forces in India are spectacularly ill-equipped to deal with investigations and even a mildly competent defence lawyer would have been able to tear the Gurugram police case apart. It makes one wonder just how many innocent people are rotting in jail thanks to incompetent police and poor legal representation.
Worse still, how many people have gotten away with murder and other heinous crimes in India because of the police who have doctored evidence to frame innocents or let criminals get away. Other than a few notable exceptions, there is a reason people demand a CBI investigation into crimes, and while the CBI’s partiality in investigating political crimes is debatable. it remains the finest investigative force in India simply because State police forces do not use modern techniques at all. It would not be too harsh to say that sometimes it appears that the only technique many cops seem to know is how to coerce confessions. American crime shows show how far criminal investigations have come, and even with meticulous planning criminals cannot get away with murder. In one case, investigators devised a new method to test cremated remains to check whether a victim had been poisoned. In India, on the other hand, Manu Sharma almost got away with Jessica lal’s murder despite shooting her at point-blank range.
There is a reason this newspaper has been clamouring for urgent police and judicial reforms in India. Public trust in justice is eroding. Had Pradyuman Thakur's father not been persistent and demanded a CBI probe, an innocent man could have gone to prison and a juvenile delinquent might have gotten away with murder. If it is found that this teenager did indeed commit this crime he should be tried as an adult as the new amended law allows and be put away for a long, long time. But the investigators of the Gurugram police should be sent packing back to a school. And be made to publicly apologise.