Ryan case: 'Haryana minister told us not to seek a CBI probe'

In yet another revelation in the Ryan murder case, victim Pradyuman's father, Barun Thakur, alleged on Tuesday that Haryana Cabinet Minister Narbir Singh suggested to the family to not demand a CBI probe.

The seven-year-old student of Gurugram's Ryan International School was brutally murdered inside the school toilet on September 8, within an hour of his father leaving him there.

According to the family, PWD, Forest, and Civil Aviation Minister Narbir Singh visited their house in Gurugram on September 14, a day before CM Manohar Lal Khattar announced the decision on CBI probe. Speaking strongly against a probe by the investigative agency, Singh told the family to not demand it. "He visited our house a day before the CM announced the decision. While talking about the incident, he began to give us reasons why we should not demand a CBI probe. He explained how CBI might not even pick up the case for the coming 1.5 years and how we might end up with the same findings as of the Gurugram Police," Thakur told DNA.

Unwilling to give up, however, Thakur requested the minister to go ahead with the CBI inquiry. "We were not pleased with his suggestion and requested him to take our plea forward," he said.

When contacted, Singh did not respond to DNA queries.

The Gurugram Police had arrested a bus conductor in the case. Later, however, the CBI announced that a senior student of the same school was behind the murder, and rejected the police's claim that the conductor was to blame.