Gurugram student murder: Bombay HC adjourns bail plea hearing of Ryan group chief, MD

Ryan student murder case: The court had granted interim protection from arrest to the founding chairman and managing director of Ryan International Group of Institutions till Wednesday. PTI Photo

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday adjourned the transit anticipatory bail application hearing of founding chairman and managing director of Ryan International Group of Institutions Augustine Pinto and wife Grace Pinto respectively to Thursday. The court had granted interim protection from arrest to the founding chairman and managing director of Ryan International Group of Institutions till Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, arrested Ryan International School official Francis Thomas had requested the Supreme Court to transfer the case out of Haryana, with the apex court deciding to hear the matter on Monday, as per ANI. Thomas was among the two officials from the Ryan International Group of Institutions arrested under Section 75 (care and negligence) of the JJ Act. The development comes nearly four days after a Class II student at Gurugram’s Ryan International School was murdered inside the school premises.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Amitava Roy and A M Khanwilkar considered the submission of senior advocate K T S Tulsi that the fundamental right of a person to be represented by a lawyer of his choice is getting infringed.

The bench assured the counsel of Francis Thomas, northern zone head of Ryan Group, that it will hear the petition on September 18. Thomas was arrested on Monday in connection with the murder of the boy in school premises on Friday last.

Meanwhile, the accused bus conductor’s DNA samples were sent to the Karnal Lab for testing, reported ANI. The prime accused in the case, Ashok Kumar, had been produced in a court in Sohna on Tuesday afternoon and was sent to judicial custody. “The accused, Ashok Kumar, has been interrogated during the three days for which he was remanded to police custody. Since we are satisfied with our findings, he has now been sent to judicial custody until September 18, when he will once more be produced in a court in Gurugram,” said Ravinder Kumar, PRO, Gurugram Police. Also Read: Accused sent to judicial custody, police say satisfied with findings

The brutal murder was discovered when seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur was found with his throat slit in a washroom within the school premises last week Friday. Ashok, a bus conductor with the school, was arrested the same evening. Police said that Ashok had confessed to the crime.

According to police, Kumar said he had gone to the washroom to relieve himself when Pradyuman entered. Ashok allegedly tried to sexually assault the child but panicked when the latter started screaming for help, police said, adding that he pulled out a knife and slit the child’s throat with it.

Senior advocate K T S Tulsi alleged that the bar bodies at Sohna and Gurugram in Haryana have asked their member lawyers not to represent any person or accused in the brutal murder of seven-year-old Pradyuman. The apex court bench has assured that it will hear the petition on September 18.