A Delhi court has remanded five accused to 14-day judicial custody in connection with the death case of three UPSC aspirants, who drowned in the basement of Rau’s IAS coaching center at Rajinder Nagar in Delhi on July 27.
The students lost their lives after being trapped inside the library in the basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle, which flooded due to rain after the single biometric entry and exit point failed because of flood water.
According to eyewitnesses, the basement was filled with 10-12 feet of water almost immediately, leaving students no chance to escape. Rescue operations began shortly after the incident was reported.
Police arrested seven persons in connection with the incident, including four co-owners of the coaching centre and a driver of a car that passed by along the street on July 27.
The driver was arrested on the grounds that he drove through the flooded road, causing the water to swell and break down a gate of the coaching centre, which led to the flooding of the institute’s basement.
Out of these seven, two were sent to judicial custody on Sunday, while five were produced before the court today.
The bail petitions of the accused will be heard on Tuesday.
The counsel appearing for the driver argued that the road was not closed and the accused was driving along the center of the road.
He further stated that the traffic inspector, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and PWD officials have not been arrested. Only a common man has been detained to appease the media and create an impression of action, he added.
The counsel emphasized that there was no prohibition to drive on the road, as the water level was only 2.5 feet high and the vehicle’s speed was only 15 km per hour.
The counsel representing the other four accused argued that the essentials of Section 102 (culpable homicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhit (BNS) were not fulfilled in the present case.
He further argued that the responsibility for ensuring the safety of the students was on the lessee (coaching owner), who had already been arrested. None of the actual culprits from the civic agencies have been taken into custody, added the counsel.