8-year-old boy found with throat slit: What happened at Gurgaon’s Ryan International school on Sept 9

A day after a class 2 student of Gurgaon’s Ryan International school was found on campus with his throat slit, HT put together the sequence of events between 7.30am and 9.45am on Friday.

A Class 2 student of Ryan International school in Bhondsi, Gurgaon, was found on Friday morning inside a toilet with his throat slit, crawling and bleeding profusely before he died.

Demonstrators, including parents of students, protest on Saturday outside Gurgaon’s Ryan International School as they demand action against the institute. (PTI)

The eight-year-old was attacked just minutes after his father dropped him and his elder sister to school, a short drive from their home.

A school bus conductor, Ashok Kumar, has been arrested for the murder and the Gurgaon Police has promised a swift probe into the matter. Kumar allegedly confessed to killing the boy after trying to sexually assault him in the toilet.

From CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts, HT pieces together the sequence of events that took place on Friday:

7.35am

The 8-year-old boy leaves for school in Bhondsi, three kilometres away, in his father’s car. He is accompanied by his 11-year-old sister. The boy was looking forward to school as it was his best friend’s birthday. He waves bye to his mother standing at the gate.

7:55 am

The father drops the two children off outside school. The boy rushes inside with his sister holding his hand.

7:59 am

CCTV footage near the toilet shows accused Ashok Kumar, the bus conductor, going towards it. Three students meet him inside, even the gardener sees him inside. (CCTV camera just outside the toilet was not functioning.)

8am

The sister leaves the boy outside his class, 2B, on the ground floor and heads off to her class.

8:01 am

The boy is seen going towards the toilet.

8.02am

The boy enters the toilet, where Ashok Kumar is waiting. (This is where Kumar allegedly tries to sexually assault the child and kills him when the boy resists).

8:04 am

Within minutes, Ashok Kumar is seen coming out of the toilet and heading towards the drinking water area. He drinks water and puts some on his blood-stained shirt to clean it.

Three eyewitnesses say they heard a child shouting from the toilet. The three run towards it along with the gardener, and see a badly injured boy crawling towards the toilet exit.

8:05 am

The gardener and the eyewitnesses rush to inform teacher Anju Dudeja, who runs towards the boy. She finds him in a pool of blood; his school bag was lying near the outer wall of the toilet.

8:06 am

CCTV footage shows Ashok Kumar rushing towards the boy and helping the gardener pick him up and rush him to a car.

8:10 am

The school informs acting principal Neerja Batra. The boy’s father, who has reached home, receives a call from the school reception asking him to contact the supervisor. The supervisor tells him that his son was found bleeding profusely outside the toilet. He is told to reach Badshapur Life Care Hospital.

Accused returns to toilet, tries to wash his shirt and pant and change his clothes.

8:11 am

School informs the police about the incident.

8:20 am

Teacher Anju Dudeja and acting principal Neerja Batra take the victim to Artemis hospital in Batra’s car. They ask his father to reach Artemis.

8:30 am

Father reaches Artemis hospital, is told that his son was brought dead. He is shown the body.

9:30 am

Police check all the CCTV footage.

9:45 am

Gurgaon Police detain the gardener and bus conductor. The two are taken to police’s Crime Investigation Agency office in Sohna. (This is where accused Ashok Kumar confesses to committing the crime).