He slit his throat, then pretended to help him
GGN TRAGEDY Three students, who went to change their uniform for Taekwondo classes, spotted the prime suspect inside the toilet
students of Ryan International School, who went to change their uniform for Taekwondo classes in the toilet where an eight-year-old class 2 student was murdered on Friday morning, are the prime witnesses.
The three boys spotted the prime suspect — 42-year-old bus conductor Ashok Kumar, who has been accused of killing the boy — inside the toilet.
The students changed their clothes and came out but Kumar, who was standing near the entrance, remained inside, police sources said. The police corroborated the statements of the students with CCTV camera footage.
A gardener is also seen going towards the toilet but he came out within three minutes. Initially, the police suspected him and detained him for questioning but let him off after they could not find anything against him.
Police said as soon as the victim entered the toilet, the suspect grabbed the boy and took him to the last toilet, which had a lock. The other toilets have doors without locks.
“He wanted to sodomise the child but could not. Fearing he would raise an alarm or inform the authorities, he took out the knife and slit his throat,” said an official.
Kumar rushed out of the toilet but no one saw him coming out. He tried to sprinkle some water on his pant and shirt. The victim crawled up the toilet wall till the door and collapsed. Gardener Harpal and other students saw him bleeding and informed teach- ers in the corridor.
Anju Dudeja, a teacher, rushed towards the toilet. The suspect joined the group and quickly picked the boy along with Harpal and rushed to a teacher’s car. He reacted as if he was shocked, police said.
After dropping the boy, Kumar returned to the building and went to the toilet. He washed his bloodstained shirt and pant and went to change his clothes in the bus.
Kumar showed sympathy for the parents and took part in a discussion with other staff. During initial questioning, Kumar said he had gone to the toilet but did not see the victim.
The cops zeroed in on him after collecting CCTV footage and matching the sequence of the entry and exit of people in the toilet with their statements.
“He admitted killing the child within a few minutes of questioning as he knew we had zeroed him in,” said DCP crime, Sumit Kuhar.
On Friday morning, the suspect left home at 6am and reached school around 7.30am. After his bus was parked, Kumar entered the school with a knife in his pocket. He is seen in CCTV footage walking towards the toilet. He was in the toilet for nearly 15 minutes, even before the victim entered.
Kuhar said Kumar was earlier sacked from a private school at Ghamroj for his “sexually predatory behaviour”. No police case was filed then.
Ghamroj is around 5 km from Ryan school and a number of men from the village work at Ryan International School.