Delhi Court Denies Bail To SUV Driver In UPSC Aspirants' Death Case, Wife Hopes For Justice In HC

On Wednesday (31 July), a Delhi court denied the bail pleas of an SUV driver and four owners of the basement of a coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar, where three civil services aspirants tragically died last week.

Judicial Magistrate Vinod Kumar has rejected the bail application of driver Manuj Kathuria along with others according to a report from Hindustan Times, while many observers have pointed towards absence of any strong grounds or case for arrest and detention of the driver.

Kathuria has been accused of driving his Force Gurkha car through a flooded street, which allegedly caused rainwater to breach the gates of the three-story coaching centre, eventually inundating the basement.

Shima Kathuria, the wife of the SUV driver, expressed her disappointment over the rejection of her husband's bail application.

Earlier, the Delhi High Court had criticised the Delhi police for their investigation into the case, calling it "strange," noting that no MCD officials had been held accountable.

The bench observed, "There is some sort of strange investigation going on. It is being done in a very strange manner. No MCD officials have been hauled up till now. Has he (the investigating officer) investigated the role of the MCD officer?"

It further added, "How come there was so much water over there? Only one person has gone to jail from MCD. Delhi police have arrested a bystander, a driver who was driving a car there. It seems someone has lost it. The police officers who are investigating the same, what are they doing?"

To date, the Delhi Police have arrested seven people in connection with the case, including the CEO-owner of Rau’s Study Circle, the centre’s coordinator, four basement owners, and the SUV driver.