Schoolboy's Death: Court Grants Time to CBI to File 2nd Charge Sheet

Gurgaon, Apr 10 (PTI) A sessions court today directed the CBI to file supplementary charge sheet, in the murder case of a seven-year-old boy at a private school in Haryana by May 14 after the probe agency sought more time.

Additional Sessions Judge Jasbir Singh Kundu granted time to the CBI after taking note of a fresh plea of the agency stating that investigation in the case was underway and it needed more time to file the supplementary report.

The court also directed the officials of the private school, Francis Thomas and Jayesh Thomas, to be present in the court on the next date of hearing on May 14.

Meanwhile, the arguments on a plea moved by the accused, a 16-year-old student, challenging the juvenile justice board order, saying it was "bad in law" and was passed without giving him proper opportunity to present his case, was concluded today.

The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) had on December 20 last year held that the teenager would be tried as an adult and directed that he be produced before the Gurgaon Sessions Court.

The court had earlier directed the CBI to speed up the probe and submit a final progress report by today. It had also acquitted bus conductor Ashok Kumar in the murder case after the CBI said there was no evidence of his involvement in the crime.

Earlier, the court had barred the media from using the name of the 16-year-old juvenile accused in the case and asked it to use fictitious names instead.

While the seven-year-old victim was named "Prince" by the court, the juvenile accused was named "Bholu" and the school was referred to as "Vidyalaya".

The CBI, in a charge sheet, has alleged that the teenager had murdered the student in September last year in a bid to get the exams postponed and cancel a scheduled parent-teacher meeting.

In the final report, the probe agency said sufficient oral, documentary and forensic evidence has come on record to substantiate that the 16-year-old accused had committed the murder on September 8 last year. The victim's body, with the throat slit, was found in the washroom of the school.

The probe agency gave a clean chit to school bus conductor Ashok Kumar, who was earlier arrested by the Gurgaon Police, saying there was no evidence to prove his involvement in the crime.

The CBI took up the case from the Gurgaon police on September 22, following a nationwide uproar over the gruesome killing.

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