Charges framed against man accused in Gurugram private school murder

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been directed to produce the witnesses at the next hearing scheduled for February 20

The Gurgaon special children’s court on Tuesday framed murder charges against 21-year-old accused, who as a juvenile was apprehended on charges of murdering a seven-year-old boy at a private school in Gurugram where they both studied in 2017.

The 7-year-old boy, a class 2 student, was found with his throat slit on September 8, 2017, inside the toilet of the private school where he studied. The CBI apprehended a Class 11 student of the same school for the murder. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Taking into consideration the evidence, additional district and sessions judge Tarun Singal on Tuesday found the accused prima facie guilty of murder under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, paving the way for his trial.

The court, while framing charges, asked the accused whether he wanted to face trial or plead guilty, to which he replied that he was ready to face trial.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been directed to produce the witnesses at the next hearing scheduled for February 20.

The victim’s counsel, Sushil Tekriwal, said trial is finally ready to begin after over five years. “The development indicates that the case will be fast-tracked and the trial will be concluded expeditiously,” he said.

The 7-year-old boy, a class 2 student, was found with his throat slit on September 8, 2017, inside the toilet of the private school where he studied. The CBI apprehended a Class 11 student of the same school for the murder. The accused, who was 16 years old at that time, turned 21 on April 3, 2021.

The father of the 7-year-old victim, said they have been waiting for trial to begin since the past five years. “This is the first time charges have been famed in the case and we are hopeful that the accused will be convicted. Our prayers have been finally answered,” he said.

CBI prosecutor Amit Jindal said there is enough evidence against the accused. “He committed cold-blooded murder in a well-planned manner and tried to destroy evidence at the scene of the crime and later searched online for ways to clean fingerprints off the school bathroom walls,” he said.

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

The Supreme Court on October 20 , 2022, had granted interim bail to the accused. The apex court’s bail verdict came three days after the JJB ruled that he must be tried as an adult since he was “mature enough” to understand the consequences of his actions and to think of ways to escape punishment. The accused had applied for bail at least 21 times since 2017 but the various courts had denied him until last October.

On October 31, district and sessions judge Surya Pratap Singh assigned the case to the court of additional sessions judge Tarun Singhal for trial.

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.