Ryan student murder: Suspended school principal joins Sec-40 branch as teacher

Neerja Batra, who was suspended from the post of Ryan International School principal due to her negligence in the school where the eight-year-old was brutally murdered on September 8 has been appointed as a teacher in school's Sec 40 branch. 

"Suspended Principal of Ryan International School (Bhondsi), Neerja Batra joins Gurugram's Sector- 40 branch as teacher," reported ANI. 

The move has left parents fuming as they are demanding that until the case closes, the staff present at the school on the day of the murder should be treated with suspicion.

A parent was quoted in media as saying that “Until and unless she is declared not guilty, she should remain suspended.”

Father of Pradyuman Thakur, was killed in Ryan school, condemned the move. "How can you reinstate the principal who failed to fulfill her responsibility? What is the meaning of suspension then?," Pradyuman's father Varun Thakur asked. 

He further questioned, "How can you expect her (Neerja Batra) to fulfil responsibilities as a teacher. It's a risk to security & safety of students." 

“She was the principal of the institution in which the gruesome murder of an innocent child took place. She was suspended for negligence in delivering her duties and now the management cannot assign her a new task in another branch. How can they reinstate an employee who is found guilty of not doing her job responsibly?” said Ramneek Vashishtha, another parent told Hindustan Times.

Read | Punjab: Ryan International School student allegedly beaten up by 2 teachers

Batra, who has been working with Ryan schools for 20 years, was appointed at Sec 40 branch after administrative clearance from school management and Gurgaon district commissioner's office. 

Vinay Pratap Singh, deputy commissioner, Gurgaon, told a newspaper, “I had ordered to send her to the sector 40 branch of Ryan International School as she was not responsible for the incident. She had done her bit by informing the school management of the safety and security lapses through emails and she had no financial power. If she had not sent the emails, she would also have been arrested by the police for her negligence. Her deployment was originally at the sector 40 branch and I have sent her back as keeping her at Bhondsi could have been an issue.”

“If parents have issues they should speak to the school management. Now, it is the school management’s prerogative to retain her in the branch or post her to another. Now it’s up to the sector 40 school management how to utilise her services,” said Singh who is the administrator of the school for three months by a government order.

Read | Ryan murder case: Punjab and Haryana HC stays Pinto family's arrest until further hearing