Ryan bus conductor gets bail, but no clean chit yet

A special court in Gurgaon granted bail on Tuesday to bus conductor Ashok Kumar, the first suspect in the murder of Ryan International School’s student Pradhyumn Thakur, and said that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had no evidence against the 42-year-old.

“It is a great relief for us. I was sure from the very start that my client was innocent,” Kumar’s counsel Mohit Verma said after the court granted him the bail at a bond of ₹50,000.

The court also decided not to change the jurisdiction and said the trial in the case will take place in the same court. The CBI, however, did not absolve Kumar in its report submitted to the court on November 16.

“So far, no incriminating evidence has been found in their investigation in connection with the involvement of Ashok Kumar in the murder of the Class 2 student. In case, any evidence about the involvement of Ashok Kumar comes forth during the ongoing investigation, appropriate action will be taken by the agency as per

NEWDELHI:

law,” the report said.

The probe agency had mentioned in the court that a “clean chit” would be given to anyone involved in the case only after a charge sheet is filed.

The court had on November 16 sought the report from the CBI after he moved a bail application. It adjourned hearing on the bail plea until November 20.

Gurgaon Police arrested Kumar on September 8 hours after Thakur was found with his

throat slit outside a toilet at the school. Kumar was also booked under the stringent POCSO Act on charges of sexually assaulting the eight-year-old.

After spending four days in police custody, he was sent to the Bhondsi jail on September 12. Lawyers representing Kumar moved a bail application on November 10, shortly after federal investigators apprehended a Class 11 student of the same school for the murder.