Ryan murder case: School owner Pintos summoned; Haryana govt recommends CBI probe

The CEO and trustees of the Ryan Foundation that runs the Ryan International School have been asked to appear before the police on September 26.

Gurgaon police on Friday summoned the CEO and trustees of the Ryan Foundation that runs the city-based Ryan International School for questioning over the murder of an eight-year-old Class 2 student even as the Haryana government decided to handover the case to the CBI.

Gurgaon Police summons owners of the Ryan International School for questioning on September 26 over the murder of an eight-year-old Class 2 student (PTI File Photo)

They were asked to appear before the police on September 26.

The move comes after the Punjab and Haryana high court refused to stay the arrest of group’s chief executive officer Ryan Pinto and two trustees Augustine Pinto and Grace Pinto in the September 8 murder of the boy, who was found dead outside the school toilet.

Confirming the development, an official of the Gurgaon police said that a member of the special investigation team (SIT) went to Mumbai and served the notice on Pintos, who are based there.

Sources in the police department, meanwhile, said that if Pintos do not cooperate in the investigation then they could be arrested.

On September 14, the trio had approached the Bombay high court seeking an anticipatory bail, which was rejected.

The Haryana government has already announced to transfer the murder case to the CBI, as desired by the family of the victim.

In a letter to the union government, the state government said the CBI should probe all aspects of the case, including conspiracies and any abetment.

Parents of the students of the school earlier demanded a CBI inquiry and stricter legal provisions be slapped on the management for the murder.

Ashok Kumar, a 42-year-old bus conductor, was arrested after publicly confessing to slitting the throat of the student who he tried to sexually abuse inside the toilet at the school.

The school management has been booked under section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act, and two of its senior officials have already been sent to judicial custody for lapses and exposure of the victim to circumstances which led to his murder.

Regional head of the school Francis Thomas and HR head Jayesh Thomas were arrested and sent to judicial custody after a Gurgaon court on September 18 rejected their bail applications upholding the prosecution’s plea that their offence was non-bailable and cognizable.