The boy was attacked by bus conductor Ashok inside the toilet of Ryan International School in Gurgaon.
Highlights
- A knife was found next to the Class 2 student's body
- A school staff member discovered the child's body at around 8.45 am
- Police questioned school staff, teachers and also spoke to students
A seven-year-old boy found with his throat slit in the toilet of the Ryan International School in Gurgaon was murdered by a schoolbus conductor who tried to sexually assault him, the police said today.
"Bus conductor Ashok attempted to sexually assault the boy, when he raised an alarm the conductor killed him... Accused had been working here for the past six to eight months. He had gone to use the toilet where he saw the boy. He was not targeting that particular child, only when he saw the boy he thought of assaulting him. He had the knife with him in his pocket," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Simardeep Singh.
The class 2 student was found in the toilet by a schoolbus driver shortly after he was dropped off by his father this morning.
His father, a quality manager with a private company, had just reached home after dropping his two children when he received a call from the school.
"I dropped him around 7:55 am. I received the call around 8.10. They told me my son is bleeding, he was found outside the washroom and they are rushing to the hospital, they asked me to come too. I rushed but my boy was dead by the time I reached," he said.
"It is a clear-cut murder case. It happened inside the school. How can a parent know what happens to their child in school?
As the news circulated on WhatsApp, hundreds of anxious parents barged into the school building, flung furniture around and shattered the glass award cases. They shouted slogans until they were ushered out by policemen of the gates. Several parents later protested at a police station deamanding action against the school.
The school denied any delay in taking the child to hospital. "The child was looking serious. We didn't lose a minute. We took the child in my car," said Neerja Batra, the officiating principal.
Last year, a branch of the school in Vasant Kunj was accused of criminal negligence after a six-year-old student of Class 1 was found dead in a water tank. The investigation is still on.
The murder today has left educators and parents in shock.
"This is the worst thing to happen to anybody...There is a lot of anxiety among us after this incident," said Ameeta Wattal, principal of Springdales School.
"It is an extremely sad day for all schools," said Abha Sehgal, a former principal of Sanskriti School.