Coaching Center
On Monday, the Delhi Police announced the arrest of five more individuals in connection with the deaths of three civil services aspirants who drowned in a flooded basement at a coaching center in Old Rajinder Nagar on Saturday. This brings the total number of arrests in the case to seven.
Harsha Vardhan, Deputy Police Commissioner (Central), stated that the newly arrested individuals include the owners of the basement and a person who drove a vehicle that allegedly damaged the building’s gate.
A second police officer, wishing to remain anonymous, identified the owners as Abhijeet and his son. The officer explained that different people own various floors of the building, and those arrested specifically own the basement.
On Sunday, police registered a case under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, causing death by negligence, and common intention.
Previously, on Sunday, police had arrested Abhishek Gupta, 41, the CEO and owner of the coaching center, and DP Singh, 60, the institute’s coordinator.
The victims, Tanya Soni, 21, Shreya Yadav, 25, and Nevin Delvin, 29, drowned when the basement library of Rau’s IAS Study Circle coaching center flooded due to heavy localized rainfall.
This tragedy is the latest in a series of monsoon-related deaths in Delhi. It led to protests outside the coaching center, prompting the police to declare the area a crime scene and seal it off. Protesters, who blocked the road to Karol Bagh metro station, demanded a meeting with government officials. They were eventually dispersed by senior police officers.
The incident has triggered a political blame game between Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which also controls the municipal corporation, and the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Authorities have ordered multiple investigations.
Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj accused Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena of failing to act against officials responsible for cleaning drains before the monsoon. Meanwhile, Delhi BJP chief Virender Sachdeva called for the resignation of the concerned ministers.
Lieutenant Governor Saxena has ordered a probe, describing the incident as indicative of the broader issue of misgovernance in Delhi.
