Pradyuman Thakur was a seven-year-old student at Ryan International School, in Gurugram, in the state of Haryana, India. His body was found with injuries to the neck outside a washroom at the school on 8 September 2017, and he later succumbed to his wounds. A bus conductor who provided assistance with carrying the injured Pradyuman was initially charged with the murder, and allegedly confessed to police, but was later found to be innocent. Four police officers were later charged with framing him for the murder. Following a transfer of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation, an unnamed sixteen year old student from the same school has since been charged with his murder. The case is still going on, and the trial proceedings have not begun as of December 2021.
Thakur's death attracted widespread public concern and criticism for the conditions regarding safety in schools in Delhi NCR. A number of government reviews of Ryan International School's functioning were conducted following the investigation into Thakur's death, and revised guidelines for safety in schools were issued by both, the State and the Union governmental bodies.
Murder
On 8 September 2017, Barun Chandra Thakur drove his 7 year old son, Pradyuman, and 11 year old daughter Vidhi, to Ryan International School, in Gurugram, Haryana, where both children were students. Thakur later stated that he had begun driving his children to school instead of sending them by school bus, because of safety concerns.
Thakur left his children at the school gates at 7:55 a.m. At 8:08 a.m., several students alerted school staff that Pradyuman had been injured, and was bleeding from two neck wounds, outside a washroom near his classroom, on the ground floor of the building. Staff members asked a school bus conductor, Ashok Kumar, to assist them with carrying Pradyuman to a car belonging to one of the school teachers, and drove Pradyuman to a nearby hospital in Badshahpur. He was transferred from there to Artemis Hospital in Gurugram, where he was declared dead on arrival.
Pradyuman's parents, Barun and Jhyoti Thakur, were contacted by the school authorities after he was found, at 8:15 a.m, and went directly to the hospital where he had been taken. They later stated to press that school officials had not informed them about the injuries their son had suffered, and that the police had not been called by the school, but instead had been called by themselves.
Several hundreds attended the last rites for Pradyuman, who was cremated with police protection, in Gurugram.
Investigation
Haryana Police Investigation
Initial investigation and arrest of Ashok Kumar
The Haryana State Police were alerted about the incident by Pradyuman's parents, and arrived at the school at 11:30 AM on the same day. Police officials stated to media that a blood stained knife was recovered from the area where Pradyuman was found, and a police forensics team examined the area and collected evidence, including fingerprints, from the area. CCTV footage recovered from the hallway near the scene of the crime showed Pradyuman attempting to crawl out of the washroom, while bleeding from the neck, before collapsing in the hallway. Police detained and questioned ten persons, and observed blood stains on the shirt of Ashok Kumar, the school bus conductor who had assisted with carrying Pradyuman to a car which took him to the hospital. A cellphone video recorded by a witness at the scene of the crime showed school authorities asking Kumar to help pick up Pradyuman to transport him to the hospital. Kumar was arrested by the Haryana Police in connection with the murder at 12 noon, on the same day.