Mumbai: Two days after Pradhuman Thakur, a Class II student aged seven, was found murdered in the washroom at Ryan International School, Gurugram, the school’s citybased founders moved the Bombay High Court for transit anticipatory bail on Monday.
Ryan International Group’s founding chairman Augustine Pinto and his wife, managing director Grace Pinto have sought pre-arrest bail through Advocate Niteen Pradhan. The pleas are based on the fact that they were not present in school at the time of the incident, and were filed following the arrest of two school officials. It will be heard by a Single Judge Bench comprising Justice A.S. Gadkari on Tuesday. The bus conductor has also been arrested in the case.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has issued notices to the Centre and the CBI on a plea filed by Pradhuman’s father. In Mumbai, police said there is already a system in place to ensure schools take measures to prevent exploitation of students on their premises. This system, enforced by the local police station, includes ensuring students are safe at all times and conducting background checks on school employees. “We are asking police stations to check whether guidelines are being followed,” JCP (Law and Order) Deven Bharti said.
Parents protest
Parents of students at the Ryan International School in Kharghar protested on Monday outside the school demanding safety and security for their children. The parents have presented a list of demands. “These are points we have been discussing with management since sometime now. After the Gurugram incident, we decided to send a strong and clear message to the management. Principal Alice Vaz has assured us that the demands will be met. All that we can do now is wait for the management’s next mov ,” the parent of a Montessori student in the school said.
Around 100 parents had gathered outside the school demanding all children below six be accompanied by a maid while visiting the washroom. Children above six should be accompanied till the toilet. “A female guard should be posted near toilets so that it is used by any out sider who is not a staff of the school. The toilet for children should be exclusively for them. Police verification of all school employees is a must before hiring. Right now, Montessori kids are not accompanied by a maid,” the parent added. Another parent said, “Repairs that aren’t urgent should be done only after school hours. At present, classes have more than 40 students; we have asked that this be reduced to 30 so student can be given more attention.”
They have also demanded that a Parents Representative Team be formed comprising five to six parents. This team will pay surprise visits to the school after hours and will also have rights to access CCTV footage. “When we pay a huge amount to an institution, we expect that our child will be safe, but incidents like what happened in Gurugram have shaken us completely. We have taken this step to ensure the safety of our children,” a parent said. Ms. Vaz could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. A similar protest has been planned by parents of the school in Sanpada on Tuesday morning. — Inputs by Raina Assainar
