Ryan International School murder: School authorities must be held accountable for security

The murder of a seven-year-old student in Ryan International School, Gurugram, brings to limelight the reality that it is high time private school authorities are held accountable for the safety and security of the school premises. In the last two years, deaths of three students have taken place in posh schools located in Delhi - National Capital Region. Recovery of a sharp weapon near the body of the child, who was brutally murdered on Friday, is an evidence strong enough to prove that there was serious lapses in the security system of the school. The body of Pradyumna Thakur was found lying in a pool of blood in the washroom of the school. His throat was slit supposedly with the knife found near his body by an unidentified killer. The boy had reportedly reached the school around 8.15 am. The school authorities called his father around 8.45 am informed him about the death. [caption id=“attachment_4025109” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Ryan International School, Gurugram. News18[/caption] On 20 January, 2016, a six-year-old student, Devansh Kakrora, died after he allegedly fell into a water tank in the Vasant Kunj branch of Ryan International School. Though the Delhi police had recorded the death under section 304(a) of the Indian Penal Code, dubbing it a death by negligence, his parents alleged that it was a pre-meditated murder. His father RH Meena is still fighting a case in the Delhi High Court, demanding a CBI probe into his son’s death. Aditya Agarwal, advocate of the case told Firstpost that there are many evidences from which it can be inferred that Devansh’s murder was pre-meditated. “The body was recovered from the water tank, which was covered by a very heavy slab. It is beyond the capacity of a seven year old child to lift the slab and get into the tank. Someone else must have lifted the slab,” he said. He added that to go to the water tank, the child also had to open a gate which is always locked. He alleged that someone must have unlocked it for him. Contrary to Devansh’s father’s claims, the Delhi Police maintains that it was an accident. The Daily Mail report said that during the investigation, children’s belongings like pens, balls and spectacles were recovered from the tank. This, according to the investigators, suggests that the school administration acted in a negligent manner and risked the safety of children. “When we inspected the water tank, two spectacles, balls, pens and pencils were found. It clearly shows that students had access to the tank. The possible danger was known to the school authorities, but no preventive steps were taken. The articles found in the tank had gathered algae. This again reveals that these were dropped in the tank long ago,” the report quoted a police official as saying. Whatever be the cause behind Devansh’s death, negligence on the part of the school authorities was definitely one of the causal grounds. However, rather than accepting the lapses in the school security system, the authorities opted to absolve themselves from responsibility and it was appalling. The school authorities blamed the child for the death, Devansh’s parents complained. “I asked the principal if she knew my child. She said she didn’t. I asked her how could she claim that he was hyperactive? She told me that’s what the class teacher had said. Look at all this… This isn’t the work of a special child. My child was bright. They can’t just say anything to shift the blame,” Devansh’s father RH Meena reportedly told Delhi’s education minister Manish Sisodia, according to The Indian Express. Anita Rampal, an educationist, condemned the school authorities for this act. “It is inhuman to blame the dead child for the death. We were shocked to here that comment . The school should take responsibility and take a nurturing nature,” she added. No wonder that the school authority’s response to Devansh’s death was enough to prove its lack of concern for students’ security. The same negligence was evident in the Gurugram branch of the same school, where the murder took place on Friday. In this case, the question which intriguing investigating authorities is how the knife, with which the child was murdered, entered the school premises. “It is a knife used to cut vegetables. But how did it come to the school premises is certainly a subject of enquiry,” a police source told reporters. The concern with the security of the school has all along been an issue among the parents. In the meetings held earlier, school authorities and parents raised three important issues related to security measures in the school. “The school was alerted to check whether the close circuit cameras installed in the premises were functioning. The school was also asked to check how some people from nearby villages could easily enter the school premises. Further, a student was found with a pistol earlier in the school premises. Parents had asked the school authorities to maintain vigilance,” reported CNN-News 18. Friday’s murder is proof that proper security measure were still missing in the school. “The so-called prestigious schools in Delhi NCR charge Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 10,000 a month as fees per student. Parents pay this money with a hope that expensive education would bring about better future for students. However, it is painful to see some of them carrying home the dead bodies of their children,” Ashok Agarwal, President of All India Parents Association, told Firstpost. It is important to note here that Pradyumna’s death is the third such case in a posh school in Delhi. Last month, a 10-year-old boy, Arman Sehgal, allegedly died after “falling down” at GD Goenka Public School in Indirapuram. There are serious allegations of some school authorities using their influence to cover up their lapses. Referring to Devansh’s death, Ashok Agarwal said, “the Delhi Police is under the influence of the school authority and that is why it did not record the death as a murder.” It was striking enough to see that the police enquiry and the magisterial enquiry of Devansh’s death came out with completely different findings. “The magisterial probe into Devansh’s death indicates a “heinous crime” and the investigations so far have “ignored” the observations of the child’s parents,” Delhi government said, according to an The Indian Express report. The newspaper further quoted Sisodia as saying, “The observation of the parents that the private parts of the child had cotton on them is being ignored. The report is indicating towards a heinous crime.” In contrast to the magisterial report, the police termed it a death by negligence. Ashok Agarwal also alleged that there was no follow-up action on the school by the state government on the basis of the magisterial report. “The Delhi government failed in fulfilling its responsibility. Whether the Haryana government, under whose jurisdication the Gurugram branch of the Ryan International Public School where the murder took place on Friday falls, take stringent action against the school for its negligence still remains a question,” he added. Ashok Agarwal further said that whoever be the murderer or whatever be his motive, it is the responsibility of the schools to provide security to the students from such criminals. The government should make them accountable for the security in the schools.