New Delhi: A Class 2 student was found dead in a pool of blood in the washroom of Ryan International School in Gurugram on Friday morning. The deceased, a seven-year-old, was found around 8 am by another student who went to the use the washroom. The boy’s throat had been slit and a knife was found next to the body.

Neeraj Batra, the school’s caretaker, said he did not know how the knife was brought into school premises. The police have registered a murder case. The FIR was registered against unknown persons under Section 302 of the IPC and Section (25) (54) (59) Arms Act.

Police sources said the school bus driver, conductor and eight other staff members are being questioned.

SCHOOL COORDINATOR SPEAKS TO CNN-NEWS18

"The kid was alive when we saw him lying in the pool of blood. We took him to the hospital immediately. Police are here to investigate the matter and after investigation one can say from where the knife came inside the school premises," says Neeraja Bhatra, School Coordinator.

"The students alerted the teachers and the school management then informed the police, who rushed him to Artemis Hospital. He was declared brought dead by doctors," PTI quoted Ravinder Kumar, PRO Gurgaon Police, as saying.

A police team, including forensic experts, is probing the case and has collected blood sample and finger prints from the scene. A knife with blood stains was also recovered from the spot, he said.

"We are investigating the case from all angles... of homicide, enmity, and others. The police team is examining the CCTV footage from over 30 cameras installed on the school premises," the officer said.

PRINICIPAL NOT PRESENT IN THE SCHOOL

Staff members and classmates of the student, who hailed from the Bhondsi area, are being questioned, he said. The body has been sent for postmortem, police said. "We received a call in the morning which said such an incident has happened at Ryan International School. After we reached the spot we were informed that the child has been shifted to a hospital where he died. The cause of his death will be clear only after post-Morton," says Simardeep Singh, DCP Gurugram.

The boy's father, Varun Thakur, who works as a quality manager with Orient Craft in Gurgaon, accused the school administration of negligence. Varun said the school administration did not inform him about his son's death initially. "They told me his health deteriorated suddenly. They did not take care of my son. He could have been saved if he had been taken to hospital in time," he said. "I dropped him today at around 7:30 a.m. He was happy," the grieving father said.

PROTEST OUTSIDE SCHOOL

Hundreds of parents and locals gathered outside the school and protested against the school management. Senior officials of the Gurgaon police intervened to maintain calm.

Some of the parents told CNN-News18 that bus drivers and conductors were allowed to use the washrooms meant for the students. The school authorities, however, denied the allegation.

Meanwhile, the gardener who was the first one to see the body and inform the management was questioned in the matter.

PARENTS DETAINED BY POLICE

In February last year, a six-year-old student had drowned in a water tank at Ryan International School's Vasant Kunj branch.