Ryan opens, only to shut again till Sept 25

Over 10 days after the brutal murder of a seven-year-old student within its premises, the Ryan International School in Gurugram re-opened on Monday, only to be shut again till September 25. There was heavy security deployment at the school to prevent any untoward incident. Confirming the report, Gurugram's Deputy Commissioner (DC) Vinay Pratap Singh said:"The Ryan School in Bhondsi will be shut till Friday. Classes will resume on September 25. Safety concerns will be addressed till then." Meanwhile, the accused in the case, bus conductor Ashok Kumar, was produced in the special POCSO court in Gurugram, along with the Ryan International Group's northern zone head and Human Resource head. In the court, Kumar reiterated that he was forced to confess to the crime.

"Ashok said he was being framed. He also told the judge that he was pressurised to sign the confession statement," his lawyer Mohit Verma said.

Earlier on Sunday, the victim's parents vehemently opposed the re-opening of the school. "The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is yet to take charge of the probe and visit the crime place, as well as sanitise the school premises. At this stage, opening the school will not be a wise decision," child's father Varun Thakur said, adding that the re-opening of the school could lead to "tampering" of evidence.

The DC, however, denied such claims and said: "The entire crime scene has already been sanitised."

Meanwhile, fear and anxiety continued to grip students and parents on Monday, with very few children turning up for classes.

PINTO BAIL PLEA

• Three Ryan International School trustees submitted a fresh bail plea in Punjab and Haryana High Court, which will be heard on Tuesday
   
• Founder Augustine Francis Pinto, Managing Director Grace Pinto, and their son, CEO Ryan Pinto had moved the Court on Saturday, but their anticipatory bail plea could not be admitted following the Court’s objections