The Ryan International School’s branch at Bhondsi, Gurugram, reopened on Monday morning, days after it was shut down following the murder of one of its students, Pradyuman Thakur, on the school premises on September 8. A student of class 2, the body of seven-year-old Pradyuman was found with his throat slit in one of the toilets in the school. Following the murder, school bus conductor Ashok Kumar was arrested with the police alleging that the 42-year-old man had killed the boy with a knife after he had resisted an attempt to sodomise him.
ANI quoted the parent of a student as saying, “Children are in fear, just asking one question-do we go to the toilet, or go to drink water? They say they won’t go.”
The school had also reopened last Monday but was shut down again for a week.
The police had also registered an FIR under sections 302 (murder) and 25 of the Arms Act and later added sections 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act and 12 of the POSCO Act.
A CBI investigation into the case began last week on the orders of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar
Gurgaon Police had issued a notice to the school’s owners, asking them to appear for questioning. According to police, a notice was served to CEO Ryan Pinto, Managing Director Grace Pinto, and Founding Chairman Augustine Pinto. “A notice was served to them in Mumbai, and they have been asked to appear for interrogation on September 26, along with documents relevant to the probe,” said Sandeep Khirwar, Commissioner of Police. The Pintos had applied for anticipatory bail in the High Court, but their plea was rejected.
