A Delhi court granted bail on Thursday to Manuj Kathuria, who was arrested by the Delhi Police for allegedly driving his sports utility vehicle (SUV) through flooded roads in Rajendra Nagar, leading to the inundation of an IAS coaching center basement and the death of three civil services aspirants.
Additional Sessions Judge Rajesh Kumar Goel approved Kathuria’s bail. Previously, Judicial Magistrate Vinod Kumar had denied bail to Kathuria and four co-owners of the basement: Tejinder Singh, Parvinder Singh, Harvinder Singh, and Sarabjeet Singh, prompting them to appeal to the Sessions Court.
Kathuria faced accusations of driving his Force Gurkha SUV through rain-flooded streets, which caused water to breach the gates of Rau’s IAS Study Circle, flooding its basement and trapping students, resulting in three fatalities. Kathuria’s lawyer contended that he had no connection to the incident and should not be held accountable for the deaths.
The court, after hearing the arguments, granted Kathuria bail. The bail pleas of the other four accused are scheduled for a hearing on Friday.
The Delhi High Court also questioned the Delhi Police on Wednesday regarding Kathuria’s arrest, terming the investigation as “strange.” Acting Chief Justice Manmohan criticized the police for arresting a passerby driver and questioned whether they had investigated the failure to desilt the area, which might have contributed to the flooding.
The High Court has requested a report from the Delhi Police and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and will hear the case on August 2.
