A court in Panchkula has formally framed charges against four Haryana Police officers in connection with the 2017 murder of a seven-year-old schoolboy in Gurugram, a case that had triggered nationwide outrage and exposed serious flaws in the original police investigation.
The accused officers are Narinder Singh Khatana, then SHO of Bhondsi police station; Birem Singh, then assistant commissioner of police, Sohna; Shamsher Singh, then sub-inspector at Bhondsi; and Subhash Chand, then ESI. They have been charged under multiple provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including criminal conspiracy, disobedience of law, preparing incorrect documents, fabricating evidence, causing hurt to extort confession, and criminal intimidation.
All four pleaded not guilty. The court has scheduled January 22 as the next date for recording prosecution evidence and has summoned two witnesses.
The case dates back to September 8, 2017, when the Class 2 student was found with his throat slit inside a washroom of his private school in Bhondsi, Gurugram. The discovery sparked widespread public anger. Haryana Police initially arrested a school bus conductor, alleging attempted sexual assault and murder. However, protests and inconsistencies in the investigation raised doubts, prompting the victim&rsquo;s father to approach the Supreme Court. The state government subsequently handed the case to a central investigating agency.
Investigations revealed that the four police officers had allegedly framed the conductor by using torture to extract a confession and fabricating documents to protect the actual perpetrator. A supplementary charge sheet filed in January 2021 accused the officers of deliberately planting evidence, coercing statements, and constructing a false narrative that could have resulted in a death sentence for an innocent man.
The investigation later led to the arrest of a 16-year-old Class 11 student from the same school, who was charged with the murder. Evidence and witness accounts contradicted the initial police version, implicating the juvenile in the crime.
A major obstacle arose when the state government initially refused to grant permission to prosecute the four officers. The refusal was challenged in court, which deemed it &ldquo;arbitrary&rdquo; and directed a fresh review, clearing the path for charges to be formally framed.
Officials noted that the officers&rsquo; actions not only derailed the investigation but also caused severe physical and mental trauma to the bus conductor, who spent months in custody before being exonerated.

Court formally charges Haryana cops over 2017 schoolboy murder and evidence tampering

CBI Court Charges Four Haryana Cops in 2017 Murder

Court formally charges Haryana cops over 2017 schoolboy murder and evidence tampering

December 12, 2025 | 17:08 IST