(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Two senior officials of a well-known school near New Delhi were arrested following the murder of a 7-year-old student on the premises, police said yesterday.
Pradhuman was found with his throat slit inside the wash room of Ryan International School in Gurugram, located in the suburbs of the Indian capital, on Friday.
A school bus conductor was arrested soon after, with police claiming he confessed that he tried to sexually assault Pradhuman and killed him when he resisted.
'The school's regional head Francis Thomas and and human resources head Jeyus Thomas were arrested late Sunday night after a committee investigating the crime pointed at serious security lapses on part of the school management, Gurugram police spokesman Ravinder Singh said.
'Francis Thomas and Jeyus Thomas were arrested under the Juvenile Justice Act, the police officer said.
Both were produced before the court of Judicial Magistrate, first class, Mohamed Zakkaria, who sent them to two days' police custody.
Police also accused both of tampering with evidence.
Gurgaon Police Commissioner Sandeep Khairwar said the Juvenile Justice Act had been invoked because there were glaring lapses due to which security of the child was endangered and the crime committed.
As police set up at least a dozen teams to probe the brutal murder of the boy and shaken parents associations of Ryan International Schools in Mumbai, Delhi, Noida and other places protested seeking their children's safety, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the central and Haryana governments on a plea by the boy's father seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe.
Police said they also questioned the school staff as a separate probe team team left for Mumbai to interrogate school CEO Ryan Pinto and director Augustine Pinto.
Meanwhile, Ashok Kumar, the bus conductor, was also presented before the court on the expiry of his three-day police custody and sent to 14 days' judicial custody.
However, many believe he was made a scapegoat and the man's family too claimed he was falsely implicated since he was poor.
A decision to install closed-circuit television in all classrooms, stairways, galleries, washrooms, and other open spaces in all schools was also taken, while in neighbouring Delhi, the government announced police verification of non-teaching staff of all government and private schools in three weeks.
The murder of Pradhuman led to angry protesters staging demonstrations outside the school located in Bhondsi on Sohna Road.
At least 50 people, including nine journalists, were injured on Sunday when police baton-charged a group of protesters in front of the school building.
A police officer was suspended yesterday for using force against journalists.
Pradhuman's mother Jyoti said the school management 'misguided them after the murder and his father Varun Thakur was compelled to move the Supreme Court for a probe by the CBI.
Yesterday, there was a heavy police presence at the school, which will remain closed for now, except for students of senior grades who will sit for exams from tomorrow.
The school management said it was co-operating with police investigations.
Meanwhile, in Mumbai, the trustees of the Ryan International Schools filed an application in the Bombay High Court seeking anticipatory transit bail.
The sudden move by Augustine F Pinto and his wife Grace Pinto, trustees of the St Xaviers Education Trust that manages the schools, came amid reports that a Haryana police team would question them and other trustees.
Augustine is a former sheriff of Mumbai and Grace is close to top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.
However, the names and whereabouts of the other trustees of the St Xaviers Educational Trust are not known and it is not clear whether they would be implicated in the case.
Girl made to stand in boys' toilet
In a shocking incident, an 11-year-old girl was made to stand in the boys' toilet in a private school in Telangana as punishment for not wearing school uniform. The incident occurred on Saturday in Rao's High School in Ramchandrapuram on the outskirts of Hyderabad, but came to light yesterday after a video of the girl describing the sequence of the events went viral. The girl, who refused to go back to school, alleged that a woman teacher scolded her for not wearing the school uniform and made her stand in boys' washroom for five minutes. The incident evoked outrage as parents and students' unions staged a protest in front of the school, demanding stern action against the teacher.
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