The court of Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Jasbir Singh Kundu on Wednesday discharged the bus conductor in connection with the murder of a seven-year-old student of a private school in Bhondsi, Gurugram. The CBI has named him as a prime witness in the murder case.
The court said there was no evidence on record against Ashok and directed the CBI to submit the final chargesheet against the juvenile accused by April 10. Ashok was granted bail in November by the special court for children on a personal bond of Rs 50,000. Ashok was arrested on September 8 within hours of the murder by the Gurugram Police as a prime accused in the murder.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) gave Ashok a clean chit and held a Class XI student of the school for the murder in the school washroom. The agency had said that the fingerprints at the scene of the crime matched with the juvenile.
In the part chargesheet filed on February 5, the CBI alleged the juvenile had murdered the student on September 8 last year to postpone the exams and cancel parents-teachers meeting.
A detailed chargesheet will be filed by the agency on April 10. Sources said the agency may name the school administration and some police officers of Gurugram Police for deliberately obfuscating the probe by arresting the school bus conductor, who was innocent.
Two officials of the school namely — Francis Thomas and Jayesh Thomas, currently out on bail — booked under Juvenile Justice Act for negligence in the safety and security of the children in the school were directed to appear before the court on April 10.
Sources said the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Gurugram Police that was tasked to investigate the sensational murder of the student, is also on the CBI radar. The role of the school and the Gurugram Police in accusing the conductor is also being probed by the agency.
“There is evidence against the accused which directly indicated that Bholu (name changed as per the court directions) was the prime offender in the case and he should be convicted. The court has directed the probe agency to speed up the investigation and file the final charge sheet by April 10,” Sushil Tekriwal lawyer of the complainant, said.
The court has now fixed March 10 for final hearing and order over the appeal filed by the juvenile challenging the order of Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) to treat juvenile as an adult.
Earlier in the month, the investigation agency has also requested for the discharge of the conductor who was initially the prime suspect in the crime, citing he had no role to play.
The case was handed over to the CBI on September 22. It did not find any evidence against Kumar and took the Class XI student into custody on November 8. Kumar got bail on November 21.
A seven-year-old student was found in a pool of blood with his throat slit inside the washroom of a reputed Gurugram school on September 8, 2017.