Devansh Meena Kakrora death: Parents allege sodomy; SDM report accuses Ryan School of negligence

A week after Devansh Meena Kakrora, a Class 1 student at Ryan International School was found dead in a water tank in the school's Vasant Kunj campus, his parents have alleged that he was murdered.

The child's father, Rahmeet Meena, told ANI that he had seen marks on the child's private parts - suggesting sexual assault. Meena has alleged a criminal conspiracy behind the death. He has also claimed to have written to the Human Resource Development minister Smriti Irani and has reportedly asked for a CBI probe into the matter.

Devansh's parents cry foul

Rahmeet Meena raised some rather alarming questions about the incident. "I saw injuries on the private parts of Devansh which clearly indicates that someone tried to do something wrong with my son," he said.

He said he has 24 questions about the death of his child. These include:

The slab covering the water tank the child was found in reportedly weighs 20kg. "How can my child, or any child lift such a heavy lid?" he asked.

"And if he fall down accidentally, then why his shoes were found outside the tank?" (sic)

"I have the entire map of the area, there are cameras, where were they that day?" (sic)

I saw the dead body, there were some red marks & private parts had cotton on them: Father of Ryan student who died pic.twitter.com/OQb5eQ3hKg

- ANI (@ANI_news) February 6, 2016

I have the entire map of the area, there are cameras, where were they that day? : Father of child who died pic.twitter.com/F6BcnTtyge

- ANI (@ANI_news) February 6, 2016

SDM report holds Ryan school for 'gross criminal negligence'

An inquiry, conducted by a subdivisional magistrate raises a number of points. The report questions why the school authorities had failed to ensure additional surveillance when the students were called to school for a poetry competition on a Saturday (a holiday).

The report also alleges that the teacher in charge of Devansh was unable to ascertain the exact time for which the student was missing.

The report puts the blame on the school authorities, claiming there the authorities had wasted time and had made no attempt to rescue the child. The school authorities had reportedly failed to enter the tank after Devansh was found. Prajwal Sehrawat a Class 11 boy had retrieved his body. The report also accuses the school of endangering the life of Sehrawat - also a minor - by allowing him to enter the tank.

"Ryan school's allegation about Devansh being hyperactive was a ploy by the teacher to extract money from his parents," the SDM's report alleges.

Ryan International School in hot water

On 5 February, the Principal of the Vasant Kunj branch, Sandhya Sabu, and four other staffers - one teacher, a maintenance worker and a gardener - were arrested. They were questioned and later let out on bail.

The death had been further murkied when school authorities alleged the boy was hyperactive. The child's father told The Hindu that Devansh had been undergoing counseling for hyperactivity at AIIMS. "My child was absolutely fine, he had no mental illness. He was just a hyperactive child and being hyperactive is not an illness...."

Government intervention

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on 6 February questioned the Delhi police probe into the matter. He demanded to know why the police was ignoring the parents' allegations of sodomy and slammed the school for having called the child mentally unstable.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government's education department on 1 February directed city schools to carry out inspections to ensure that school premises were not hazardous to the students.