While the juvenile's father feels the court has been acting unfairly in favour of the CBI, yesterday's verdict came as the first step towards justice for Pradyuman's father.
The murder of 7-year-old Pradyuman Thakur has left not just one but three families in turmoil.
Yesterday, after the Juvenile Justice Board, Gurgaon, pronounced the order for the juvenile accused to be tried as an adult, he broke into tears. Seeing his son's fate, his father, too, could not control his emotions and broke down.
Ever since the CBI arrested the juvenile on October 8, his family has been struggling to save him. They were desperately hoping for a relaxation in the board's sentence, but were bitterly disappointed.
“The board has been harsh on our son, and its sentence is not fair. The order makes the judge look like a CBI counsel. The CBI has tortured my son both physically and mentally," said the juvenile's father.
He added, “The school’s behaviour, too, has been strange. Despite my son's report card showing that he was an above-average student, the teachers gave negative feedback on his marks."
The family clearly feels the way things have gone in favour of the CBI has been unfair.
However, on the other hand, it was a day of victory for victim Pradyuman Thakur’s family. For his father, Barun Thakur, the CBI verdict was the first step towards justice.
But there's a third family involved — that of Ashok Kumar, the bus conductor initially accused of the child's murder.
On hearing the order passed against the juvenile, Kumar heaved a sigh of relief. However, he is still not entirely relaxed.
“I alone know how I spent those sleepless nights wondering about my fate after I had been framed for this horrible crime. For a poor man like me, it was tough proving my innocence. My life has been adversely affected, as people still look at me with suspicion.”
The heated courtroom trials, the tears, the frustration and the helplessness that today surrounds the case has the entire country on tenterhooks. Will justice prevail? Who will it favour? The victim’s family or the juvenile's? Is Ashok Kumar really innocent? And if he is, will his life ever be the same again?
