Victim's father seeks SC-monitored probe

Varun Kumar Thakur, father of the seven-year-old student who was found brutally murdered with his throat slit inside Ryan International School in Gurugram on Friday, said that he will move the Supreme Court on Monday to seek a court-monitored CBI probe into the horrific crime.

"I will also appeal for safety guidelines to be issued so that such crimes are not repeated anywhere in the country," he said at a press conference in Delhi on Sunday night. Earlier in the day, the police booked the institution's owner, Ryan Pinto, even as protests against the brutal murder, criminal negligence and police investigation escalated and turned violent.

"The probe is being influenced by someone who does not want the truth to come out. The school owner must be arrested," said Thakur who works as a quality manager for a private company in Delhi. This death should set an example for strict monitoring of schools and their responsibilities and duties, he said. Hundreds of protesters set ablaze a liquor shop near the school, prompting the police to resort to lathi charge, in which many, including journalists, were injured.

Many protesters were detained by the police. The local administration announced that the school will be shut on Monday after parents called for a mass protest.

Haryana Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma said that action under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act will also be taken against the school management. He said new guidelines for the safety of schoolchildren will be issued on Monday. "Any violation of these guidelines will follow strict action," he said. The police had on Friday arrested a bus conductor of the school after the Class II student was spotted outside a toilet, crawling and bleeding profusely before he died. Protesters alleged that drivers and conductors of the school often had liquor from the shop and could use toilets meant for students. Locals said the school playground that has no boundary wall opens right in front of the liquor shop. This, they said, had made the playground a den of criminals.

The conductor, Ashok (42), who had been working for the school for the past eight months, first tried to sexually assault the child before mercilessly killing him when he resisted, the police had said.

The area turned near the school into a police garrison on Sunday as three bus-loads of cops were brought in and the school was fortified, with politicians pouring in to exploit the tragedy and angry parents pressing for a CBI probe. Officers justified the police action, saying the mob could have gone out of control.

"The case has been probed very shoddily. When we gathered here to demand justice for the family, the police thrashed us and even mediapersons," said Subhash Kumar, a protester, who received injuries during the violent scuffle. Cameras of some journalists were also damaged.

Girdhar Pathak, another local who was hurt, said, "It was when MP Pappu Yadav arrived and began listening to protesters, police officers ordered lathicharge. We were demanding cancellation of the school's licence. Even those who got into their houses were dragged out and beaten up mercilessly."

Congress leader and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda visited the victim's parents. He condemned the police action in the BJP-ruled state and backed the family's demand for a CBI probe. Congress leader Randeep Surjewala sought an apology from Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

The victim's father said earlier that the sequence of the crime remains unclear. "There are many questions which the police needs to answer. We doubt that the conductor was alone responsible for the crime. We must get justice. This shall not be left as one of the high-profile unsolved cases," said Thakur.

The acting principal of the school, Neerja Batra, has already been suspendGirdhar Pathak, another local who was hurt, said, "It was when MP Pappu Yadav arrived and began listening to protesters, police officers ordered lathicharge. We were demanding cancellation of the school's licence. Even those who got into their houses were dragged out and beaten up mercilessly."

Congress leader and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda visited the victim's parents. He condemned the police action in the BJP-ruled state and backed the family's demand for a CBI probe. Congress leader Randeep Surjewala sought an apology from Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

The victim's father, Varun Kumar Thakur, said that the sequence of the crime remains unclear. "There are many questions which the police needs to answer. We doubt that the conductor was alone responsible for the crime. We must get justice. This shall not be left as one of the high-profile unsolved cases," said Thakur who works as a quality manager for a private company in Delhi.

The acting principal of the school, Neerja Batra, has already been suspended. The services of a private agency that provided security to the school have also been suspended.

Even on Friday, the brutal murder had sparked angry protests by the victim's father, other guardians and locals who shouted slogans and vandalised school property, flinging furniture around and shattering glass doors. The police had to resort to lathicharge even then to control the mob fury and arrested five protesters who were later let off.

REPORT EXPOSES SAFETY LOOPHOLES

A government panel said in its report that CCTV cameras at the school were not installed at key areas, drivers and conductors used same toilets, and the boundary wall was broken. Fire extinguishers had expired and there was no police verification of the school’s employees. The Gurugram DC has written to the Director of Secondary Education for action. The Haryana government, however, said de-recognition of the school was not an option as about 1,200 students study there.