Manuj Kathuria, the SUV driver detained in connection with the deaths of three IAS aspirants within the basement of a coaching center in Old Rajender Nagar in Delhi, was released on bail on Thursday, 1st August. He was granted bail on a bond of ₹50,000 by Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Kumar.
This comes after the Delhi Police informed the court on Thursday that they decided to swap the SUV driver’s more serious allegation of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the coaching center death case.
The investigating officer (IO) informed Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Kumar of the conscious choice to drop the case, who was hearing an appeal against the magisterial court’s refusal of bail to the SUV driver Manuj Kathuria on Wednesday.
Yesterday the Delhi’s Tis Hazari court dismissed the bail pleas of Manuj Kathuria along with four owners of the property. While dismissing the bail application of accused Manuj Kathuria, the judge had said, “Perusal of CCTV footage of the alleged incident shows that the driver can be seen driving the vehicle on an already heavily waterlogged road at a speed causing large displacement of water, resulting in the gate of the alleged premises giving way. Water entered the basement, leading to the loss of three innocent lives.”
#BreakingNews: Delhi Old Rajinder Nagar coaching centre tragedy
— Mirror Now (@MirrorNow) August 1, 2024
Relief for SUV driver Manuj Kathuria#DelhiPolice drops culpable homicide charge
Mirror Now's @nikhil_lakhwani shares more details | @pareektweets | #DelhiCoachingCenterIncident pic.twitter.com/NZiFWrmDVB
The police had objected to the bail plea in the court yesterday. But today the police changed its position on the SUV driver, and dropped the harshed charge of ‘culpable homicide not amounting to murder’ against him, paving way for his bail.
“During the further investigation, as carried out in the proceedings 48 hrs, it has transpired that the ingredients of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) is, at this stage, not being sufficiently established,” the IO said explaining the reason for dropping the charge.
However, Manuj Kathuria is still booked under Section 281 of BNS, which is for rash driving or riding on public way. The police added that the cause of the flooding of the basement can be better assessed when the expert team from IIT-Delhi visits the spot and submits a report based on the findings.
Kathuria was charged with driving his Force Gurkha car across a rain-soaked roadway, allegedly causing the water to surge and breach the gates of the three-story structure that houses the coaching center, flooding the basement.
Yesterday, Shima Kathuria, wife of Manuj defended her husband saying that he was just trying to reach a safe spot amid heavy rains. “There was no rash driving, the video is in front of everyone. My husband was not driving at a high speed,” she said.
“The coaching institute owner was running a library there when they had a NOC only for storage. When there was severe waterlogging on the roads, police should have cordoned off the roads,” she added.
Heavy rain on Saturday, 27th July caused floods in the coaching center’s library, killing three IAS candidates. The library is located in the basement of the building, and approximately 20 students were trapped. While 17 were retrieved on time, three drowned.
Preliminary investigations into the incident have revealed several infractions by the building and coaching center’s owners, including using the basement without proper clearance and lying to acquire a certificate from the fire department. The library was allegedly locked with biometric security, which failed and the door could not be unlocked due to power failure caused by the flood water.
Atul Garg, chief of Delhi Fire Services, stated that there was no way to remove the water from the basement.
Notably, the Delhi High Court had criticised the Delhi Police for arresting the driver, calling it a strange probe. A bench comprising acting chief justice Manmohan and justice Tushar Rao Gedela said that police arrested a passerby, but no action was taken against MCD officials. “Delhi Police has arrested the passerby, a driver. It seems that someone has lost it. The police officers who are investigating the same, what are they doing? Only one MCD official has gone to jail. Someone needs to be held accountable at the end of the day. You (MCD) need to fix responsibility,” the court said.
