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Now Juvenile Student Accused In Gruesome Ryan International School Murder Retracts Confession

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People participate in candle march protest against the murder of Pradyuman Thakur, student of Ryan School, at Jantar Mantar, on September 17, 2017 in New Delhi, India.
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
People participate in candle march protest against the murder of Pradyuman Thakur, student of Ryan School, at Jantar Mantar, on September 17, 2017 in New Delhi, India.

It seems now that the 16-year-old suspect in the gruesome Ryan International school murder of a 7-year-old boy has allegedly retracted his confession, according to a report in the Hindustan Times. The juvenile suspect has reportedly said that he was beaten up and forced to confess – an allegation that a former suspect, a school bus conductor at the school, had leveled against the Gurgaon police.

The report said, quoting unnamed sources, that the boy told a team appointed by the Juvenile Justice Board that "the investigators beat him up and recorded the confession in their own words."

The investigating authorities had earlier said the boy had confessed to killing Pradhuman Thakur inside one of the school's bathrooms to postpone an upcoming exam and parent-teacher meeting.

But in his latest statement, the juvenile suspect said he "heard the screams of a boy and that is when he ran out and informed the gardener and then a teacher about what he had seen."

Multiple sources also told HT that the boy had searched the internet for types of poisons and methods to remove fingerprints from a knife that he had allegedly purchased from a shop in Sohna.

The CBI arrested the Class 11 student and charged him with murder last week.

GURGAON, INDIA - NOVEMBER 8: (Face cover) CBI produces the 11th class student of Ryan International School in Juvenile Court in case of Pradyuman murder, on November 8, 2017 in Gurgaon, India. The CBI said it apprehended the Class XI Ryan International School student last night. Pradhyumn, a student at Gurugram's Ryan International School, was found with his throat slit in the bathroom of the school on September 8. Days later, the police arrested a school bus conductor for the murder; he allegedly confessed to killing Pradhyumn. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
GURGAON, INDIA - NOVEMBER 8: (Face cover) CBI produces the 11th class student of Ryan International School in Juvenile Court in case of Pradyuman murder, on November 8, 2017 in Gurgaon, India. The CBI said it apprehended the Class XI Ryan International School student last night. Pradhyumn, a student at Gurugram's Ryan International School, was found with his throat slit in the bathroom of the school on September 8. Days later, the police arrested a school bus conductor for the murder; he allegedly confessed to killing Pradhyumn. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij demanded strong action against officers of Haryana Police who investigated the Ryan murder. The BJP MLA from Gurugram also sought stringent action against police officers who ended up arresting bus conductor Ashok Kumar for Pradhuman's murder.

The police arrested Kumar on September 8. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar handed over the murder case to the CBI. The CBI began probing the case from September 22 and arrested the Ryan student on November 8, It also gave a clean chit to the conductor.

(With inputs from agencies)

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.