Security lapses found at Ryan, owner booked; all 4 campuses shut for 2 days

The parents of seven-year-old Praduman Thakur have called for a CBI investigation into his killing

 

The three-member fact finding committee, formed after a seven-year-old boy was murdered in a washroom of Ryan International School here, has found major security lapses on part of its management, Haryana Education Minister Rambilas Sharma said on Sunday.

He said that the committee, headed by the District Education Officer, would submit its report to the Gurgaon Police and Deputy Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh.

The parents of seven-year-old Praduman Thakur, who was murdered in Ryan International School here, on Sunday urged the Haryana government to have the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigate the brutal killing. The child's parents said there could be a deeper "conspiracy" behind the murder.

According to a Times of India report, the Haryana government has ordered all four campuses of the Ryan International School in Gurgaon to remain closed on Monday and Tuesday. 

Here are the lapses found at Ryan International

• Sharma said that the committee has found that there were no separate toilets and washrooms for the 40 bus drivers and conductors of the school.
• No frisking of bus drivers and conductors were done. No security checking system was found in the school. No CCTV cameras were installed covering each and every corner inside the school, the minister said.
• Also, he said that one could easily enter into or get out of the school premises after climbing over the boundary walls
• "The windows and grills of the students' toilet, in which the Class 2 student Praduman was killed, was found broken," he added.

Ryan's owner to be booked

The Education minister also said that the top management and proprietors of the school would also come under the ambit of the FIR as their negligence appeared clearly in the brutal murder of Praduman.

He said that the government has announced a holiday on Monday in Ryan International school in order to "maintain peace and harmony" near the premises.

Sharma also said that from now on, it would be the "duty and responsibility" of every school in Haryana to bring and drop each student from school to home.

Assuring the parents protesting against the brutal killing and demanding strict action against the school management, the minister said that the guilty would be brought to justice and "if parents of the child insist on a CBI probe, the government will accept it."

"Police will file a charge sheet in the fast-track court within a week. If parents of the murdered student are not satisfied with their investigation, then the state government is ready for a probe by any agency, including the CBI", he said.

Sharma further said that the government accepts that there was negligence on part of the school management, but "the school cannot be derecognised as the future of 1,200 students was at stake".

"We have directed the Gurgaon Police to book the owner of Ryan International School under section 75 Juvenile Justice (care and punishment act) Act 15 for punishment for cruelty to child meted out by the custodian and the charge sheet be submitted in the court within seven days," he said.

Protests by parents and locals outside Ryan International School took a violent turn on Sunday after an agitating mob set ablaze a liquor shop near the school, police said, adding that police had to resort to baton-charge to control the mob and 20 protesters have been detained.

Sharma also said that liquor shops, situated near the schools, would be closed down as the protesters alleged that the bus drivers and conductors often used to consume alcohol from the liquor shop in their free time.

The accused Ashok Kumar also worked as a bus conductor of the school.

After the violent protests, Varun Thakur, father of the murdered child, made an appeal to agitating parents to protest peacefully to make their demands heard.

"I want to request all parents who are supporting us that please do not get involved in violence," he said.

Over 50 people, including nine journalists, were injured in the lathi charge by the Gurgaon Police.

Parents demand CBI probe

The child's father Varun Thakur, a senior executive in a private firm in Gurugram, on Sunday said that though police was doing its duty, the government should order a CBI probe into the case.

"What is wrong if the probe is handed over to the CBI? I believe there was a conspiracy behind the killing of my innocent son," he said.

He also urged government authorities to investigate the case as if his child was one of their's.

Pradhuman's mother Jyoti Thakur said the school management "misguided" them after the murder.

"First, we were told 'your child is injured'. When I reached the school, the Principal was speaking to someone on phone and she did not even pay attention to me and tell me about the incident."

She said there could be a "conspiracy" behind the murder and that's why they were demanding a CBI inquiry to bring out the truth.

Pradhuman, a Class 2 student, was found dead on Friday by a school staffer in the washroom on the school campus in Bhondsi area near Gurugram city with a slit throat. The boy's family resides in Maruti Kunj Society in the same area.

Police late on Friday arrested Ashok Kumar, conductor of a school bus, for the killing but many believe he was made a scapegoat. The man's family too claimed he was falsely implicated since he was poor.