Delhi coaching centre flooding: 7 including SUV driver arrested, vehicle seized

New Delhi: Delhi police arrested seven persons so far, including a driver of an SUV vehicle, on Monday in connection with the deaths of three students in basement flooding at a coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar.
DCP (Central) M Harshvardhan said that the SUV driver was arrested based on a video that was widely shared on social media platforms, which showed the accused pass by the coaching institute on his vehicle at a very high speed and later the gate of the building was found damaged.
The police identified the driver and the vehicle through the CCTV footage of the area.
"Negligence has been established on the part of the arrested driver, who has been arrested in the Old Rajender Nagar case. He was driving the vehicle very fast, due to which the gate of the coaching centre broke. Before he hit the building gate, a street vendor had tried to stop him," the DCP said.
According to the police, the flow of water towards the institute became faster after the vehicle passed by, flooding its premises.
"At the beginning of the video, the gate of the coaching institute was fine, but after the car passed, it broke and fell down. The accused driver has no connection with the coaching owner or the building owner," DCP Harshvardhan said.
Shreya Yadav from Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Nevin Dalwin from Kerala died after the basement of the building housing Rau's Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar flooded due to rain.
The owner and coordinator of the coaching centre were also arrested in the case. The accused have been booked for culpable homicide, among other charges.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) sealed the basements of 13 coaching centres in Karol Bagh on Sunday for violating building bye-laws amid protests by students. Mayor Shelly Oberoi has directed strict action against coaching centres operating illegally in basements.