‘Sexual predator’ conductor was fired by another school
Three children key witnesses; acting principal suspended
GURGAON: A 42-year-old bus conductor accused of murdering an eight-year-old student of the Ryan International School was sacked by another school eight months ago for his “sexually predatory behaviour”, police probe revealed on Saturday.
Ashok Kumar was a driver with a school in Ghamroj, his native village, but was fired after some students complained about his “misdemeanours”. The school, about 5-km from Ryan International, did not file a complaint with the police.
Kumar was arrested after confessing to killing a Class II student who he tried to sexually abuse inside the toilet at Ryan International in Bhondsi, near Gurgaon, on Friday.
Three junior school students are now prime witnesses. Investigations revealed they three were in the toilet when Kumar walked in. The three students, who had gone to the toilet to change clothes for their taekwondo class, crossed the victim in the corridor on their way out.
Police said Kumar waited for them and a gardener, an initial suspect, to leave. The victim walked into the toilet after this.
On Saturday, the school suspended acting principal Neerja Batra and set up a panel to look into security lapses that led to the student’s murder, which sparked angry protests.
The three-member panel will submit its report on Monday. The school also canceled the contract of its security agency.
DCP (Crime) Sumit Kuhar said a background check revealed Kumar’s “sexually predatory” nature.
“The CCTV footage clearly shows his presence inside the toilet and eyewitness accounts match the sequence of events. We have strong circumstantial evidence to prove his guilt in the court”, said Kuhar.
The police have added charges under the Pocso Act, which deals with sexual assault on children, in the FIR against Kumar.
Meanwhile, amidst protests and allegations of inaction against the school management, the Gurgaon police vowed to file the charge sheet within a week. Gurgaon police commissioner Sandeep Khirwar said police will seek to fast track the trial.
“This is a very grave crime and the police is collecting the circumstantial evidence very minutely to make a foolproof case in the court. The help of a public prosecutor is being sought from investigation stage itself to ensure that there is no loophole,” said Khirwar.
The police are also likely to recommend cancellation of the licence of the security agency if lacunae are found on its part.
GURGAON/CHANDIGARH: Haryana education minister Ram Bilas Sharma on Saturday said that careless educational institutes like the Ryan International School of Gurugram, where a seven-year-old student was brutally murdered, would not be spared.
Before leaving for Gurugram from Chandigarh to visit the family of the deceased, Sharma said stern action against the guilty and the school management would be taken.
Director General of Police (DGP) BS Sandhu assured of taking stringet action against Ryan Internation School, Bhondsi, amid a growing clamour by protesting parents for bringing the school administration to book for negligence.
“It is a serious matter. The police has initiated a probe and we will take all steps to bring all the culprits to book. The school’s negligence is being probed and action will be taken against the school also,” Sandhu told Hindustan Times.
An eight-year-old Class 2 student was found lying in a pool of blood with his throat slit inside a school toilet on Friday morning. The boy, a resident of Shyam Kunj, Bhondsi, was later rushed to a hospital where he was declared brought dead. The police later said that the toilet where the boy was found was shared by students as well as bus drivers, conductors and class 4 employees of the school.
A bus conductor, identified as Ashok Kumar, was later arrested for the crime and he allegedly confessed to having killed the boy after trying to sodomise him first.
On Saturday, DGP Sandhu described the incident as very troubling and said that it took place due to some negligence in ensuring safety of students inside the school premises. Sandhu said preliminary investigations suggests that the toilet was shared by other people, which is not acceptable.
A team of police officers is probing the negligence of the school after which action would be initiated, he said.
Gurgaon commissioner of police, Sandeep Khirwar, too on Saturday said that the police were examining the case from all angles and probing the school’s alleged laxity also.
“We are examining the case from all angles and will surely take action once we are done with our probe,” Khirwar told mediapersons on Saturday.
Legal experts say that the school can be booked under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
“Police can book the school management and the principal under section 120-B of the IPC and initiate action for negligence also. In such a case, the school is 100 percent liable for the incident,” said Sudesh Kumar Yadav, president, Gurgaon district bar association.
Yadav said the toilet of the staff and the students is always separate in educational institutions. In the case of Ryan International School, sharing of the toilet with other staff was a glaring example of negligence, he said.
The School Security Guidelines issued to all the schools by the Gurgaon police in September 2014 also mention providing separate toilets to bus drivers and conductors. BE VIGILANT ON CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE: MANEKA NEW DELHI: Union minister Maneka Gandhi on Saturday said the murder of an eight-year-old student on the Ryan International School campus was “unfortunate” and urged parents and school authorities to be vigilant about child sexual abuse.