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GURUGRAM: Kela Devi has nothing but gratitude for Barun Thakur, father of murdered Ryan International School student Pradhyumn , for continuing with his fight for justice that could see her son walking out of jail soon.“Barun Thakur lost his son (Pradhyumn), but he saved my son. I will remain indebted to that family for their stand,” Kela Devi told TOI on Friday. Barun had insisted on a CBI inquiry despite the police arresting Kela Devi’s son Ashok Kumar — conductor of a school bus at Ryan Bhondsi where Pradhyumn studied — as the prime suspect.Kumar was arrested the same day as the murder , September 8, and has been incarcerated since, mostly in solitary confinement, according to his family. The family had repeatedly approached police pleading his innocence but was rebuffed. Relief came earlier this week when the CBI said police had got the wrong man, something Barun had suspected from the day of the arrest, and detained a Class 11 student of the school as the prime suspect.“He has struggled throughout his life to take care of his family. His only dream is to build a small house, and provide his children with good education,” Kela Devi said. “I have not informed him about the situation at home.”Kumar’s two sons aged 8 and 5 years, were elated to know their father could get bail soon and return to their home at Ghamroj village in Gurgaon, around 21km from Iffco Chowk. “Every day he used to return home at 5pm without fail to spend time with us. As soon as he returned home, he used to lift me up and take me to nearby shop to get candies,” said his younger son, sitting on his grandmother’s lap.Kumar is now lodged in Bhondsi jail. “My father is a loving and caring person. He has never slapped me or my younger brother. How could he kill a boy his son’s age?” asked his older son, adding that his father wanted him and his younger brother to study well and achieve something big in life.On Friday morning, Kumar’s wife Mamta went to meet him in jail. “He was emotional. Every time I go to meet him, he starts crying, and with folded hands says he is innocent,” Mamta said.She said Kumar loved his family more than anything else. “He is a school dropout. He didn’t go to school after Class V. He worked as a labourer for Rs 100 a day for a decade. Then he drove an autorickshaw from Badshapur to Gurgaon to earn more, but that was not enough to meet the family’s daily needs,” Mamta said.Kumar continued to strive for better job opportunities so that he could offer a better life to his children. Before he joined Ryan International School as a bus conductor for a monthly salary of Rs 7,000, Kumar worked as a conductor in Vivek Bharti Public School in Ghamroj for Rs 4,000.Mamta said since his arrest on September 8, the family had been struggling to meet daily needs. “I have no money to buy even winter uniform for my children. We depend on other villagers for food. Who will compensate for this?”Kumar’s last salary was credited to his account in August. “Due to his absence, we have not been able to withdraw cash from his bank account. I have been facing a lot of problems since his arrest. If he fails to get bail on November 16, I do not know how we will manage,” Mamta said.