Delhi govt will recommend CBI probe into Ryan school death: Sisodia
Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia says police probe has “several shortcomings”, to recommend CBI probe
The Delhi government will recommend a CBI probe into the death of a six-year-old student at a city school earlier this month due to shortcomings in the current police probe, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said on Sunday.
Divyansh Kakrora, a Class I student at the Ryan International School in south Delhi’s Vasant Kunj, was found dead inside a water tank on the premises on January 30, triggering allegations that foul play was involved. Five people have been arrested in the case, including the school’s principal.
Kakrora’s father Ramhet Meena filed a police complaint on Saturday – copies of which he forwarded to the Union home and human resource development ministry, raising 26 questions related to his son’s death.
“Divyansh’s parents levelled serious allegation, no police official has even met them. We can see shortcomings in ongoing probe. We will definitely recommend CBI probe,” Sisodia told news agency ANI.
The parents are scheduled to meet the city women and child welfare minister Sandeep Kumar on Sunday and have demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe.
Read | Probe report on Delhi student’s death suggests heinous crime: Sisodia
Meena told HT there were several other loopholes in the events that led to his son’s death that needed to be probed.
“Why was my son carrying his lunch box with him when he ‘accidentally’ drowned in the water tank? Also, he should have been wearing shoes when his body was fished out,” Meena said.
The family said that on the first day, the police informed them they had retrieved Kakrora’s lunch box, bag and shoes from the tank after draining out the water.
“Is it possible for a child to remove his shoes and then accidentally fall into the water? Even if he went for a dip, why would he carry his lunch box inside with him,” Meena said. He added that the boy’s bag was, however, found in the classroom.
The police, after fishing out the lunch box, had asked the family what they had packed for the boy on the morning of the incident.
Read | Swim coach didn’t rescue drowned child, Ryan International School accused of neglect
“We told the police that he had taken stuffed paratha for lunch that morning. Police retrieved the lunch box from the tank along with the food,” Kakrora’s uncle Rajendra told HT.
The family has also not been able to understand why their child would crawl all the way to the water tank.
Kakrora, according to his uncle, was about 4 feet tall, while the path leading to the tank is just around 3 feet. “Why would he take his lunch box if he wanted to crawl,” Rajendra said.
Police investigation also revealed the construction site plan of the school didn’t include the amphitheatre area and water tank, where the child was supposedly found dead.
Deputy commissioner of police (south) Prem Nath, who is monitoring the investigation, said the arrests did not mean that the probe was complete.
“Doctors believe that the child died of asphyxia. The doctors also showed the body of the child to his parents and told them that there were no visible external injury marks on the body. We are waiting for the post-mortem report before more sections can be added,” Nath said.