Court denies bail to student in Ryan case, imposes cost
Gurgaon: A sessions court today rejected the bail plea of a 16-year-old student, accused of killing 7-year- old Pradhuman Thakur at the Ryan International School here.
Additional Sessions Judge Jasbir Singh Kundu declined relief to the accused and imposed a cost of Rs 21,000 for "wasting court's time" in baseless litigation and directed the father of the accused to deposit the amount.
"The conduct of the appellant (accused) indicates that he is taking court proceedings for a joy ride. He has indulged in wasting precious court time in baseless litigation on account of which seven court hearings have gone down the drain.
"This court finds no irregularities, illegalities or impropriety in the impugned order dated December 15, 2017 passed by JJB, dismissing default bail application," the court said.
The court said the accused's ulterior motive in filing the present application was aimed to divert the track of the ongoing investigation or delay the probe and then "grab" the default bail.
It also directed in-chamber proceeding in the matter and ordered the media not to use the juvenile's name in any of the reports.
Talking to PTI, Barun Thakur, father of the seven-year old-boy Pradhuman Thakur who was found killed, welcomed the order and said he was satisfied with the verdict and the progress of the investigation so far.
The court had earlier reserved the order after hearing arguments of the counsel for the accused, the CBI and the complainant.
The defence counsel had claimed that the charge sheet in the matter was not filed within one month, as prescribed in the Juvenile Justice Act, and he was not given the required documents.
Opposing the contention, the CBI had said the mandatory period for filing a charge sheet was 90 days under CrPC provisions as the accused had been declared an adult by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).
Pradhuman was found with his throat slit in the school's washroom on September 8 last year.
The Gurgaon Police had claimed the crime was committed by a school bus conductor, which was later refuted by the CBI.
The probe agency had claimed the teenager had killed Pradhuman in a bid to get the school closed so that a parent- teacher meeting and an examination could be deferred.
The court was hearing an appeal filed by the accused against an order of the JJB denying him bail.
The JJB had on December 20 held that the teenager would be tried as an adult and directed that he be produced before the Gurgaon sessions court.
The JJB had noted that the accused was mature enough to recognise the consequences of his actions.
If convicted, the accused will stay in a correctional home till he is 21 years old after which the court can shift him to a jail or grant him bail, it had said.
The board had earlier rejected the bail plea of the Class 11 Ryan International School student.
It had set up a committee which included a psychologist from the PGI, Rohtak, for an expert opinion on the accused who was taken into custody by the CBI in November 2017.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 lowers the age of juveniles from 18 years to 16 years for heinous crimes such as rape, murder and dacoit-cum- murder, which warrant at least seven years of imprisonment.
However, the JJB first decides whether the crime was "child-like" or was it committed in an "adult frame of mind", following which it orders the accused to be tried as a juvenile or an adult.
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Allu Arjun didn't leave theatre despite being told about woman's death: Hyderabad police
Hyderabad, Dec 22: Top Telugu actor Allu Arjun did not leave the theatre during the screening of 'Pushpa-2' on December 4 despite being told to do so in view of a stampede in which a woman died, police officials claimed on on Sunday.
Speaking at a press conference on the annual round-up of 2024, city police commissioner C V Anand showed a video, made by police, on the situation that prevailed when the stampede occurred.
The video was made by collating footage, including from news channels and cell phone clips. It suggests the actor remained in the theatre till the midnight.
Anand did not make any comment on the video, but said the media can draw its own conclusions.
A police official talked about the sequence of events on the fateful night of December 4.
He said that he and other police officials informed a manager of Allu Arjun about the death of the woman and told him that the situation was out of control. He indicated that they were not allowed to meet the actor.
Allu Arjun's staff members told them that they would convey the matter to the actor but did not do so, he said.
The official said he later managed to reach the actor, told him about the woman's death and asked him to leave the theatre so that the fans don't harm each other while trying to catch a glimpse of him.
The official also told the actor that security arrangements would be made for his exit.
However, the actor said he would go only after watching the film, the police official said.
Later, accompanied by a senior officer, the official went inside and brought the actor out, he said.
Amid allegations that bouncers hired by Allu Arjun pushed crowds as well as policemen when the stampede occurred at the cinema hall, the police commissioner warned that stringent action as per law would be taken if THE bouncers indeed misbehaved with the police on duty.
The VIPs would be made responsible for the behaviour of the bouncers hired by them, he said.
Asked if the police would appeal against the interim bail granted to Allu Arjun, the commissioner refused to give a direct response, just saying it is part of the investigation.
What course of action is taken would be known in the days to come, he said.
He also declined to comment when asked if the family of the deceased told him about Allu Arjun's team or film production team allegedly threatening them not to speak on the issue.
Meanwhile, state Cinematography Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy found fault with Allu Arjun responding on Saturday to the debate in the Legislative Assembly.
The minister, who observed that the actor should have respect for the government and the chief minister, demanded an apology from Allu Arjun to the government and the CM.
"This government is never vindictive. As Cinematography Minister, we allowed benefit shows and hiking ticket prices to promote the film industry," he said.
However, Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar found fault with CM Revanth Reddy for his comments on Allu Arjun in the Assembly on Saturday.
The comments of the CM sounded like character assassination of Allu Arjun and hurting the Telugu film industry, he alleged in a statement.
Later in the day, Sanjay Kumar visited a boy who is undergoing treatment in a hospital after being injured in the stampede.
"Consoled his father over the heartbreaking loss of his wife, Revathi. I pray to god that Sritej recovers at the earliest. Assured support to the family in this difficult time," Kumar said on X.
Earlier in the day, state DGP Jitender told reporters in Karimnagar district that film personalities and all others should understand that safety and security of citizens is utmost important, and also conduct themselves accordingly.
