Delhi UPSC Aspirants’ Death: Basement Owner Among 5 More Arrested; Total 7 Held So Far

Five more individuals, including the basement owners and a driver, were arrested in Delhi in connection with the drowning deaths of three civil service aspirants.

Delhi police have arrested five more accused in connection with the deaths of three civil services aspirants, who drowned due to flooding in the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar on Saturday. 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, said Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police M Harshavardhan. 

With this, the total number of people arrested in the case stands at seven.

"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," said DCP Harshavardhan, confirming the five more arrests to news agency ANI. 

The Delhi Police on Sunday arrested the owner and the coordinator of the coaching centre -- Rau's IAS Study Circle -- and booked them for culpable homicide and other charges. A Delhi court on Sunday sent coaching centre owner Abhishek Gupta and coordinator Deshpal Singh to 14-day judicial custody.

Police have registered an FIR under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 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)and 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings).

Investigations into the Old Rajinder Nagar coaching centre flooding incident have indicated multiple lapses on the part of its owner and civic authorities. Police have asked the Delhi Fire Services to provide it with a report about the building and the basement, which was being used as a library but mentioned as a store room, news agency PTI reported quoting a senior police officer. 

A police officer said more than 35 people, including students and coaching centre staffers, were trapped on Saturday evening when water started gushing into the basement following heavy rains. According to sources in the police department, the basement's gate was closed, but due to the high pressure of the rainwater that gushed in, it got damaged.

The IAS aspirants who died in the incident have been identified as Shreya Yadav (25) of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni (25) from Telangana and Nevin Delvin (24) from Ernakulam in Kerala, police said.