The police had to lathicharge a mob outside Gurgaon's Ryan International School this morning after it resorted to arson and later detained 20 people. Three busloads of police men had been called to the school after a nearby liquor store was set on fire by hundreds of protesters, who want the police to take action against the school where a seven-year-old child was found murdered inside a toilet on Friday.

"We appeal all of you to please vacate this area peacefully. Do not resort to violence," said a senior police officer, addressing the crowd on loudspeakers.

The student of class 2 had his throat slit allegedly by a school bus conductor, who also tried to sexually assault the boy. There have been angry protests at the school by hundreds of agitated parents since yesterday.

The parents of the seven-year-old have questioned the alleged involvement of the bus conductor and demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Today, Haryana education minister Ram Vilas Sharma said, "If the parents are not satisfied with the investigation so far, the state government is ready to call in any agency". Education Minister Prakash Javadekar has promised that justice will be done in the case.

The police have said they would complete the investigation and file a charge-sheet in the case within a week. They also say they will push for a fast-track court to hold the trial. The Central Board of Secondary Education or CBSE has also set up a fact-finding committee. "Ryan International has been asked to send a report along with the FIR filed in this case within two days," CBSE's Public Relations Office Rama Sharma said.

The acting principal of the Ryan International School, Neerja Batra, has already been suspended. The services of the private agency which provided security to the school have also been suspended.

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