Manuj Kathuria, a 50-year-old businessman, has been arrested in connection with a tragic incident that resulted in the deaths of three civil service aspirants at a Delhi coaching centre. Kathuria, who was driving his SUV, is accused of causing a flood at Rau’s IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar on June 27.
Kathuria allegedly drove through a rain-flooded street, causing water to surge and breach the gates of the three-storey building, flooding its basement. This led to the deaths of Shreya Yadav from Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Nevin Dalwin from Kerala.
On Monday, July 29, Kathuria was among five individuals arrested in connection with the incident. The group, which includes four co-owners of the coaching centre’s basement and Kathuria, was presented in court. Judicial magistrate Vinod Kumar has ordered them to remain in custody until August 12.
Kathuria’s lawyer, Rakesh Malhotra, argued that Kathuria’s arrest was unlawful. Malhotra claimed that Kathuria did not know the water would flood the building and criticized the police for not arresting government officials who might have been responsible for the inadequate drainage.
“The lane was open, and the water was only 2.5 feet high. Kathuria was driving at a modest speed and was unaware of the potential damage,” Malhotra said. He also suggested that other vehicles had passed through the area without causing similar flooding, placing blame on the local authorities for poor drainage management.
A video taken by a student at the coaching centre shows Kathuria’s SUV driving through the flooded street and causing the collapse of the centre’s gate. The Delhi Police have used this footage to argue that Kathuria’s reckless driving contributed to the flood.
DCP M Harsh Vardhan stated that the video shows Kathuria driving at high speed, which exacerbated the water flow and damaged the coaching centre’s gate. “Negligence has been established,” Vardhan said. He added that before the crash, a street vendor had tried to stop Kathuria.
Kathuria’s wife, Shima, has spoken out, insisting that her husband is being wrongly accused. She claimed Kathuria was merely dropping off guests at the metro station and did not cause the damage. “The police came to question him and then arrested him. All the news reports are blaming him, but he was not responsible for breaking the door,” she told ThePrint.
In the wake of the incident, Delhi Police have also arrested the coaching centre’s CEO, Abhishek Gupta, and coordinator Deshpal Singh. The accused face charges of culpable homicide and other offenses.
This case has sparked intense scrutiny of both the driver’s actions and the local authorities’ handling of flood management.
