Janjivan Bureau / New Delhi : The three member committee constituted by the district administration to probe the murder of seven-year-old Pradyumna in Gurgaon’s Ryan International School has found ‘blatant lapses’ on school’s part and therefore section 75 (care and punishment) of the Juvenile Justice Act has been added in the case registered in the matter.
Ram Bilas Sharma, Haryana Education Minister, during a press conference on Sunday morning, said, “The school has no boundary so anyone can easily enter or exit the premises. There is no separate bathroom for the drivers and conductors of the 40 buses, and the windows of the shared toilets were broken.”
He added that the school has “no system of checking” and that CCTV cameras do not cover all areas. “There should be be a guard posted outside the washroom, which was not the case here. Based on the report, the names of the school in-charge and owner will be added to the FIR,” Sharma said, adding that the final report will be submitted on Monday.
A government spokesperson added, “Ryan International School will remain closed on Monday, as demanded by parents.”
Gurgaon Commissioner of Police, Sandeep Khirwar, told The Indian Express, “During investigation, instances of gross negligence were noticed. For instance, the toilet where the crime took place was being shared by students of the primary school as well as support staff. Such lapses have contributed to the crime. Hence, provisions of the JJ Act have been invoked… Section 75 of the Act criminalises certain negligent actions.”
Investigation will now proceed under IPC Section 302 (murder), Section 25 of the Arms Act, Section 12 of the POCSO Act, and Section 75 of the JJ Act. Khirwar also said that there is no question of cancelling the school’s accreditation as “parents said the future of 1,200 students will be jeopardised”.
After hundreds of people including worried parents staged a demonstration outside the Ryan International School on Sunday, demanding a CBI probe into the murder of the seven-year-old school boy, Education minister Ram Bilas Sharma admitted that there had been lapses on part of the school administration.
“We have directed the Gurgaon Police to book the owner of Ryan International School, Albert Pinto, under section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Punishment) Act, 2015, for cruelty to a child meted out by the custodian in the charge sheet to be submitted in the court within 7 days,” Sharma told reporters.
He said the charge sheet in the case will be ready within a week as the police were speedily conducting the probe, but stressed that if the parents of the child insist on a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or any other agency the government will accede to their demand.
Sharma also made it clear that the school management has to take responsibility for the safety and security of the children.
