No separate staff toilets, Ryan student murder due to school negligence: CBSE to SC

New Delhi: The gruesome killing of a minor boy of Gurgaon's Ryan International School took place due to the "negligence" of its administration as drivers, conductors were allowed to use washrooms meant only for kids and staff, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) told the Supreme Court on Thursday.

The CBSE also said that even the incident of death of the seven-year old boy was not reported to the police by the school authority and, in fact, the FIR was lodged by the
parent of the victim child.

Pradyuman, a class II student of the high-profile school, was found dead with his throat slit by a sharp-edged weapon on the morning of September 8. It was alleged that he was killed by 42-year-old bus conductor Ashok Kumar inside the toilet as the boy resisted a bid to sodomise him.

Read: Throat slit, 7-yr-old Gurgaon boy found dead at Ryan International School

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), in its response to the plea filed by victim's father in the apex court, submitted that after the brutal murder of Pradyuman, it
had set up a fact-finding committee to probe the incident.

The committee has found that there were "severe irregularities and security lapses" in the school premises, the Board has said, while replying in affirmative to the question whether the alleged incident had happened due to "any negligence of school authority".

"Yes, this incident has happened due to the negligence of the school authority as no provision of toilets/washrooms for drivers and conductors/cleaners who are involved in plying of buses could be found separately in the school premises which indicate that they were using the facilities meant for the students and the staff," Anurag Tripathi, Secretary of CBSE, said in the affidavit.

Sushil Tekriwal, the counsel for Pradyuman's father who had filed the PIL after his son's murder, said the CBSE report substantiated his allegations on lack of security.

The CBSE also submitted that the incident was not reported to the police by the school management, but it was the victim's parent who had rushed to police.

"No, the incident of death of student was report to the police authority by the parent...The matter is being investigated by the police," the affidavit said.

CBSE has apprised the apex court, which is hearing several pleas seeking framing of guidelines on safety in schools, that many circulars have been issued from time to time to institutions affiliated to it on safety and security of children.

"The Board...had advised all the heads of institutions affiliated to CBSE to give wide publicity to the provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act in order to
sensitise the parents, children and the staff in the matter," it said.

Following the killing of Pradyuman, the CBSE said it has now asked schools to get their security audit done by the local police, besides installing CCTV cameras at vulnerable
areas in and around school premises.

It had constituted the fact-finding enquiry committee on September 9 following the huge uproar over the lack of safety measures in the reputed school at Gudgaon.

The apex court, on September 11, had sought responses from the state government, CBSE, the Human Resources Development Ministry on the plea of Barun Chandra Thakur, the father of the child.

Thakur has sought laying down of guidelines by which "liability, responsibility and accountability of the management of the schools" across the country can be fixed in matters relating to safety and security of children at educational institutions.