After more than five years, trial begins in Ggm school murder case

Five years and five months after a seven-year-old class 2 student was found dead with his throat slit in the toilet of the private school where he studied in Gurugram, the trial in the case began on Monday before the district and sessions court

Five years and five months after a seven-year-old class 2 student was found dead with his throat slit in the toilet of the private school where he studied in Gurugram, the trial in the case began on Monday before the district and sessions court. The prosecution examined two witnesses on Day One, including the forensic expert, who had conducted post-mortem examination of the body.

After more than five years, trial begins in Ggm school murder case

On January 24, the Gurugram special children’s court had framed murder charges under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code against the 21-year-old accused, who was 16 years old when he allegedly killed his seven-year-old schoolmate on September 8, 2017.

Additional sessions judge Tarun Singhal on Monday asked the counsel for the accused whether they had any objection to the framing of charges to which the counsel replied that they were ready to face trial.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been directed to produce the 127 witnesses during the trial. On Monday, only two witnesses were examined and matter has been posted to March 3, when the defence counsel will cross-examine them. CBI officials said on March 16, two more prosecution witnesses will be examined.

Victim’s counsel Sushil Tekriwal said, “Due to time constraints, some portions of the statement of Dr Deepak Mathur, who conducted the autopsy, was left incomplete on Monday and that will continue on March 3. Apart from him, Dr BK Mohapatra, of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, was also examined. The CBI on Monday exhibited all material objects and evidence such as the crime weapon (knife), clothes of the accused on the day of the incident etc and these may substantially lead to his conviction.”

“Finally, trial has started and justice is not so far. The significant witness who conducted the post-mortem and forensic expert has started making the case watertight. The development indicates that the case will be fast-tracked and the trial will be concluded expeditiously,” he said.

Dr Mohapatra, principal scientific officer of CFSL, had carried out the serological examination of the exhibits and had submitted a three-page report, said officials.

Dr Mathur said his chief examination statement was recorded after which he was quizzed on the finer details of the weapon. “The public prosecutor asked my opinion regarding the weapon and facts related to it were clarified. All the parcels [containing evidence] that were sealed after the murder were opened in the court today. We have already given our report after the post mortem, which mentions the injuries, condition of the body, cause of death, distance between injuries and portable time between injury and death,” he said.

Neither the counsel of the accused nor his family was available for comment on Monday.

To recap the case, after the boy was found dead, Haryana Police, which initially investigated the murder, arrested a school bus conductor for the crime. He was later let go, after a probe revealed that he was innocent. The CBI which took over the case on November 6, apprehended the accused, who was studying in Class 11 of the same school, on November 7, 2017.

“We are not satisfied with the pace of the case as the trial has just begun. I hope the proceedings will be fast-tracked and the guilty will be convicted,” the father of the deceased boy said on Monday.

The CBI, in its charge sheet, listed 127 witnesses -- they include teachers, students, police, visitors, cyber crime teams, forensic experts and others. The central probe agency has also mentioned the history of internet searches, in the days prior to the murder, that was retrieved from the accused’s laptop. The searches ranged from “ways to remove fingerprints” to “effects of various kinds of poison on the human body”, among others.