Ryan International murder case: Pradyuman Thakur's father moves SC challenging bail extension to school trustees

New Delhi: The father of a seven-year-old boy, who was found dead in a Gurgaon school, on Monday moved the Supreme Court challenging the extension of the interim anticipatory bail granted to three Ryan International Group trustees in the case. Barun Chandra Thakur, father of Class-II boy Pradyuman Thakur, assailed the Punjab and Haryana High Court order staying the arrest of Ryan group CEO Ryan Pinto and his parents, Group’s founding chairman Augustine Pinto and managing director Grace Pinto, in the murder case. [caption id=“attachment_4039017” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] People protest outside Ryan International School in Gurugram after the murder of a 7-year-old. PTI[/caption] The appeal, filed through advocate Sushil Tekriwal, said the grant of interim protection against their possible arrest was illegal and unconstitutional and should be set aside. The plea has made the Central Bureau of Investigation, which is currently probing the case, and the Haryana government as parties in the case. It alleged that the 28 September order of the High Court granting interim bail and 7 October of the High Court order extending the relief was “erroneous” and should be set aside. The petition said that CBI’s investigation was at a preliminary stage and granting interim bail to the respondents now “frustrates the criminal justice delivery system”. Ryan Pinto and his parents had approached the high court, seeking anticipatory bail in connection with the killing of the student, who was found with his throat slit in the washroom of a school run by their group in Gurgaon on 8 September. School bus conductor Ashok Kumar was arrested in connection with the crime the same day. On 25 September, the High Court had impleaded CBI as a respondent in the petition seeking bail for the three Ryan group trustees. The Haryana government had recommended a CBI probe in the matter following massive outrage. The premier agency took over the probe on 22 September. The Pintos, who are based in Mumbai, had earlier approached the Bombay High Court as they apprehended arrest in the case after the school was accused of negligence in the death of the seven-year-old. The Bombay High Court had rejected the transit anticipatory bail applications of the three trustees but granted them interim protection from arrest for a day to enable them to file an appeal.