Ryan International School reopens amid safety concerns; additional CCTVs installed, new security roped in

More than two weeks after the murder of seven-year-old student Pradyuman Thakur in its premises, Gurugram’s Ryan International School reopened on Monday with a new set of security arrangements. [caption id=“attachment_4039033” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Ryan International School in Gurugram. PTI[/caption] NDTV reported that the school has hired a new security agency and 40 new CCTV cameras have been installed in the school’s building. The school had earlier reopened on 18 September but was ordered to shut down again as very few students turned up owing to security concerns. Gurugram Police’s deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh had assured the parents then that all the security concerns would be addressed by 25 September. Pradyuman  was found dead with his throat slit inside the school’s washroom within an hour of his father dropping him at school, on the morning of 8 September. The case quickly snowballed into a national issue of safety and security of children in schools, with vociferous protests held by parents and activists outside Ryan schools in several states. After an initial investigation by the Gurugram Police, the case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation after Pradyuman’s father Varun Chandra Thakur threatened to approach the Supreme Court if the agency did not start its investigation at the earliest. He also demanded that the school should remain closed until the CBI completes its probe. According to the NDTV report, a three-member CBI team along with forensic experts investigated the school premises for over seven hours on Saturday. Three people — the prime suspect, Ashok Kumar and two members of the school staff — have been arrested in the case. Since the incident was reported, the school management has also been mired in controversy over reports of serious lapses in the security of the students. The Indian Express reported that two-member fact-finding committee of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had found that the bus drivers and conductors were using the same toilet facilities which otherwise should have been reserved for the students.