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Delhi IAS aspirants' death: Court grants bail to SUV driver
Manoj Kathuria was arrested based on a video that showed him passing by the coaching institute in his vehicle at a very high speed.
Delhi's Tis Hazari Court on Thursday granted bail to the driver of an SUV, who was arrested in connection with the tragic deaths of three UPSC aspirants in Old Rajendra Nagar on July 27.
Manuj Kathuria, a 50-year-old businessman, drove his sports utility vehicle (SUV) through a rain-flooded street in central Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar, allegedly causing water to surge and breach the gates of the three-storey Rau’s IAS Study Circle building, flooding its basement.
Police had arrested him based on a video that was widely shared on social media platforms, which showed the accused passing by the coaching institute in his vehicle at a very high speed and later the gate of the building was found damaged.
Kathuria's wife Shima had said that her husband was on his way to drop two guests at the metro station, alleging that the Delhi Police were trying to pin the blame on him.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Tis Hazari Court rejected the bail applications of Manoj Kathuria and four co-owners of the basement. Judicial Magistrate Vinod Kumar in his order noted that the allegations against Kathuria are “serious in nature.”
The judge further said that Kathuria ignored a warning given to him by passersby on the road. "Perusal of CCTV footage prima facie shows that he is being tried to be warned of the dangers ahead by some passersby but he did not pay any heed. The allegations against the accused are serious in nature,” the order mentioned.
“Keeping in view of facts and circumstances of the case as well as seriousness of the offences, the prayer of applicant/ accused seeking his enlargement on bail, appears to be untenable at this stage and as such the present application deserves to be dismissed. Accordingly, the present bail application is dismissed,” the order added.
The UPSC aspirants including two women and one man died after being trapped in a basement library at Rau's IAS Study Circle in Old Rajendra Nagar. The library flooded following a heavy downpour in the national capital on Saturday.
