A Delhi Court on Wednesday denied bail to an SUV driver and four owners of the basement at Rau’s IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar.
SUV driver Manoj Kathuria and basement owners Tejinder Singh, Parvinder Singh, Harvinder Singh and Sarabjit Singh are among seven people arrested after three students drowned at the coaching institute. The other two are the institute’s owner Abhishek Gupta and coordinator Deshpal Singh.
Mr. Kathuria has been accused of driving his SUV through the street that was flooded by rainwater, causing the water to swell and breach the gates of the institute and inundate its basement.
‘Allegations serious’
While denying bail to the basement owners, the court said the lease deed of the coaching centre shows that its premises was being used for commercial purposes contrary to the conditions of the completion-cum-occupancy certificate issued by the civic body. “The allegations against the accused persons are serious in nature,” it said.
On Mr. Kathuria’s bail plea, the court said from the perusal of the CCTV footage, it was found that he was driving on a heavily waterlogged road at a speed that caused a large displacement of water.
It said this led to the gate of the premises giving way and water gushing into the basement, leading to the loss of lives.
