Haryana police quiz Ryan Group's CEO

Mumbai: A two-member Haryana police team arrived in the city on Tuesday morning and quizzed Ryan Pinto, CEO of Ryan International Group of Institutions, in connection with its probe into the murder of a seven-year-old student on Friday at the group’s Gurugram-based school.

Meanwhile, the Bombay high court granted a 24-hour transit anticipatory bail to Pinto and his parents, Augustine and Grace Pinto — who are the founding chairman and managing director of the group respectively — after they approached the HC.

A single bench of Justice A.S. Gadkari heard the transit anticipatory bail application of the family after they requested an urgent hearing, as the Haryana police was to reach Mumbai on Tuesday morning to quiz them regarding the murder in the Gurugram school last week.

The state opposed the bail stating that the Haryana government had not been served a notice regarding the bail application. However, the judge said that it was only a case of transit remand so that the accused could go to the state where the crime took place and seek anticipatory bail there.

While allowing the application, the court directed the state to oppose the anticipatory bail application in Haryana.  

Meanwhile, the Samta Nagar police, which was approached by the Haryana cops, sent a team of 20 police officers to maintain law and order outside the group’s school in Kandivali’s Thakur Complex while their Haryana counterparts quizzed the Pintos in the group’s office, which is situated at the same complex.

Anil Mane, senior police inspector of Samta Nagar police station, confirmed the arrival of two police officers and said that they took the version of top officials of the St Xavier’s Group of Schools, which manages the Ryan International schools in the country. “We are only providing protection and bandobast and are not part of the probe. The probe details are strictly confidential so as not to hamper the sensitive case,” Mr Mane said.

A police source told this paper that the Haryana police quizzed top officials of the group about flouting safety norms and asking them to explain the nature of their conduct when the safety of the child was in question. The Haryana team is likely to return on Wednesday and continue quizzing the management honchos.

Meanwhile, schools affiliated to the group saw good attendance on Tuesday. Parents stated that some students were excited to go to school as it was being flashed on TV channels, while many others were scared of the crowds outside their grounds.

One parent, Samshika Gandhi, said, “?In the morning, after looking at the situation, my husband and I told my son and daughter to skip school. But both were very excited while watching everything live outside their school.”