Ryan School murder: CBI gets custody of three persons

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday got the custody of three persons earlier arrested by the Haryana Police in connection with the murder of a seven-year-old Ryan International School student.

A designated court here on Saturday remanded the three to one-day CBI custody in the ongoing case which was earlier being investigated by the Haryana Police.

The police had arrested a bus conductor, Ashok Kumar, 42, employed with Ryan school, its North India head Francis Thomas and HR head Jeyus Thomas as part of its investigation into the murder of Class II student Pradhuman Thakur earlier this month.

The CBI took over the case on Friday and registered an FIR under sections of the IPC for murder, Arms Act, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Juvenile Justice Act.

The Haryana government had ordered a CBI inquiry into the killing of Pradhuman on September 15.

Pradhuman was on September 8 found dead with his throat slit inside the school's washroom, within an hour after his father dropped him at the school.

Earlier in the day, a 12-member CBI team arrived at Ryan school in Bhondsi, some 50 kilometre from Delhi, to collect forensic evidence related to the death of the seven-year-old student.

The local police station, where the case was registered earlier, is assisting the CBI team.

Police alleged that the school bus conductor killed him with a knife as the boy resisted an attempt to sodomise him. After the arrest of the conductor, his parents and two other Ryan school staffers claimed he was being made a scapegoat.

The Haryana Police is also seeking to question school CEO Ryan Pinto and Director Augustine Pinto. The case snowballed into a major national issue over the safety and security of children in schools, with vociferous protests held by parents and activists outside Ryan schools in several states.

--IANS

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