Five more arrested in Delhi coaching centre flooding

New Delhi: Delhi Police have arrested five more people in connection with the deaths of three students owing to a waterlogged and flooded basement at a coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar, officials said on Monday. 

DCP (central) M Harsha Vardhan, while speaking exclusively to ANI, said that five more people have been arrested in connection with the coaching centre flooding incident. 

"Whoever is at fault in this incident will not be spared. We are taking strict action against those responsible for the incident and maintaining law and order in the area," he said. 

With this, the total number of people arrested in the case stands at seven. Arrested persons include the owners of the building.

"The arrested persons include the owners of the basement and an individual who drove a vehicle that appears to have damaged the gate of the building," the DCP added. 

The incident occurred at Rau's Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar on Saturday after heavy rains. 

Earlier, two persons, namely Abhishek Gupta (owner of the building) and Deshpal Singh (coordinator at the centre), were arrested on Sunday. Both of them were sent to 14-day judicial custody. 

According to the police, the case has been registered under sections 105 (culpable homicide), 106(1) (death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide), 115(2) (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing, or constructing buildings) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). 

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 aspirants. 

The protests continued in the early hours of Monday, demanding action against coaching centres and owners running libraries in basements, a rent regulation bill or code of rent regulation to control irrational rent and brokerage, and an insurance cover or grievance redressal mechanism for students.

The aspirants have also demanded that the government take steps to avoid waterlogging or electrocution in the area during rain. 

Mayor Shelly Oberoi of Delhi echoed concerns about the violation of building bylaws, directing the MCD Commissioner to take strict action against coaching centres operating illegally in basements. 

"I have written to the MCD Commissioner that strict action should be taken against all such coaching centres across Delhi which are under the jurisdiction of MCD and are running commercial activities in the basement which are violating the building bylaws and are not as per the norms. The completion certification of this building in Rajinder Nagar was given in 2021 and it is clearly written that the basement will be used only for parking and storage," the Mayor told ANI on Sunday.