Ryan International School: Delhi government recommends CBI probe

BS Bassi: No sexual assault, but AIIMS says final report pending

The Delhi government on Monday referred the death six-year-old student Devansh Meena, who drowned in a sewage tank in Ryan International School last week, to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The decision, officials said, was taken following submission of the magisterial inquiry report to the AAP government, and the demand of a CBI inquiry by the parents of the boy. The move came after the deceased boy’s father Ramheet Meena demanded the Delhi government’s help to refer the case for a CBI probe. “The magisterial inquiry has found serious lapses on the part of the school authorities, including the fact that though the school was functioning on January 30, despite it not being a normal working day — there was not a single person to administer medical aid in the medical room despite a continuous announcement having been made in this regard,” a Delhi government statement said.

Devansh’s father met Mr Bassi on Monday afternoon and expressed his doubts over the investigation. Mr Meena said on Monday that his son was “murdered” and called for a CBI investigation. “I am not satisfied with the Delhi police probe. They arrested five people under a bailable section (of the law) whereas my son was murdered,” he said.

However, Delhi police commissioner Bhim Sain Bassi on Monday reiterated earlier findings and stressed that the autopsy report prima facie does not indicate any possibility of sexual assault.

“The post-mortem report has been received and it is being studied. Suffice to say that it (the post-mortem report) does not prima facie indicate any sexual assault,” the top cop said, adding, “Initial reading of the post-mortem report does not suggest any sexual assault. The death was due to drowning.” On January 30, Devansh Meena, a Class 1 student at Ryan International School, was found dead in a reservoir.

However, the panel of AIIMS doctors that conducted the post-mortem has not ruled out sexual assault, contrary to Mr Bassi’s claim that the report they have received prima facie does not indicate so. “We have not yet submitted the final post-mortem report on as to what caused the death of the boy. We are waiting for the investigation report from the police. We are not ruling out anything, including possibility of sexual assault, as of now,” said a senior AIIMS doctor.