Ryan school murder: Gurugram boy's father moves SC seeking guidelines for students' safety

The father of the Ryan International School student who was murdered in his school on 8 September, has moved the Supreme Court seeking measures to improve the safety of school students in the country, news reports said. Barun Chandra Thakur, the father of the schoolboy, has filed a petition in the apex court asking it to direct authorities to frame guidelines to ensure the safety of school students, DNA reported. Along with Thakur, lawyer Abha Singh and other lawyers have also filed petitions in the Supreme Court, according to Dainik Jagran. Meanwhile, Supreme Court judge Justice AM Khanwilkar has recused himself from hearing the matter of framing the guidelines, ANI reported. Earlier, Justice UU Lalit had recused himself from hearing an appeal filed by Varun Thakur seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to three trustees of the Ryan International group. [caption id=“attachment_4241393” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ryan International school in Guugram after the murder. PTI[/caption] The murder of the seven-year-old in Gurugram had caused nationwide outrage and brought the spotlight on the safety of school students in the country. After the murder, school bus conductor Ashok Kumar was initially arrested by the Haryana Police in connection with the crime. However, subsequent investigations revealed the possible involvement of a juvenile in the murder. After the juvenile — a ClassXI  was apprehended on 8 November, he reportedly admitted to his involvement in the crime. However, only days later, he retracted his confession . saying that he was beaten him and forced him to confess. He also claimed that investigators recorded the confession in their own words. On 1 December, the father of the juvenile had filed plea in court against the three-day custody of his son given to the Central Bureau of Investigation by the Juvenile Justice Board. The father had contended that the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 states that a minor cannot be put in jail under any circumstances. However, the child’s father said he will challenge the petition in court. The murder has also led to a political war of words in Haryana. Praduyman’s father had alleged Haryana minister Rao Narbir Singh asked him not to insist on a CBI probe in the case. The minister, however, dismissed the claim as “baseless”. Later, former Haryana chief minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the state government should have handed over the probe to the CBI immediately. Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala also hit out at the Haryana government, saying its role in the case stood “exposed”. With inputs from PTI