Ryan Murder: Villagers Pool Money to Fund Conductor Ashok’s Bail

Bus conductor Ashok Kumar was granted bail by a Gurugram court on 21 November.

(Photo: PTI/Altered by Rahul Gupta/The Quint)

Bus conductor Ashok Kumar, who was accused of murdering seven-year-old Pradyumn Thakur from Ryan International, was granted bail by a Gurugram court on 21 November, and is expected to walk out of prison on Wednesday, 22 November.

The district court has granted him bail on a personal bond of Rs 50,000, which will be funded by Ghamroj village in Gurugram, the place where Kumar and his family reside, reported Times of India.

According to the report, the villagers have been collecting money for his bail, since he was arrested on 8 September, as they believe that he was wrongly arrested.

The villagers have also reportedly been pooling money to support Kumar’s family, as the Ryan stopped paying him his salary. With a monthly income of Rs 7,000, Kumar was the sole breadwinner of his family.

Some villagers have given Rs 100 and Rs 500, some have given Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000. Till now, we have raised around Rs 2 lakh for Ashok. We will pay for his bail. We know he is innocent

Villager to <i>TOI</i>

Speaking to the newspaper, Kumar's mother Kela Devi claimed that village has been supporting them for their daily spending, from their ration to the Kumar's kids' school fees.

Ashok’s Uncle Under CBI Scanner

The conductor’s uncle Omprakash Chopra was summoned by the CBI on Tuesday, after an audio clip of him talking to the juvenile accused's family went viral on social media, reported Times of India.

Clarification was sought by the investigative officer from Chota regarding the audio tape. He has admitted that he had a conversation with the juvenile accused’s family. This was only to console them.

CBI Source to <i><a href="http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/ryan-international-ashok-pradyuman-murder-juvenile-accussed-cbi/1/1094561.html">India Today</a></i>

Chopra and the junvinile’s relative were reportedly heard about “fixing the case”, once Ashok was out on bail and putting the responsiblity of Pradyuman's murder on Ryan School's administration.

The court adjourned the bail plea hearing on 16 November, after CBI neither opposed the bail, nor produced any evidence against him.

The Haryana Police, which was handling the case prior to its CBI transfer, arrested Kumar on 8 September, the very day that Pradyumn was murdered.

(With inputs from The Times of India, India Today.)

(This is a developing story and will be updated)

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