Why did three students drown in Rau’s IAS basement? Here’s what CBI says

According to the CBI chargesheet, there was moderate rainfall — as per India Meteorological Department standards — on July 27, as a result of which, the main road in front of Rau’s IAS got flooded. This is in contrast to the submission of the accused’s counsel that there was “heavy rainfall” on the day of the incident. In the evening, around 30 students were in the basement when the incident took place, the probe agency stated.

Soon, a Force Gurkha SUV was being driven on the road near the coaching centre’s main entrance steel gates. The gates, which were used to prevent rainwater from entering the premises, however, could not withstand the pressure created by the vehicle on the fateful day, the CBI said. This resulted in the basement flooding. The vehicle driver Manuj Kathuria was arrested and granted bail by a Delhi Court a few days later.

The CBI further alleged that the drainage system in the locality was insufficient to carry the floodwater load. The chargesheet, however, pointed out that no pipe of Delhi Jal Board had burst in the area on the day of the incident.

It also submitted an IIT Delhi report that stated that the main entrance gates of the building were highly unstable to be used as floodwater barriers.

Inspection by IIT Delhi experts, the agency stated, found that 8-inch ‘risers’ had been constructed to prevent water from entering the basement and two pumps were installed to pump out water. A “choked” water harvesting pit was also present at the entrance of the coaching centre, the agency stated.

“All the four co-owners of the basement… let out the basement to M/s Rau’s IAS Study Circle for being used for commercial purposes despite having knowledge that the basement could be used only for the purpose of household storage, parking, etc,” the CBI stated citing a completion-cum-occupancy certificate, dated August 2021, of the building. The owners received a monthly rent of Rs 4 lakh and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had, on August 4, 2023, issued a show-cause notice to the coaching centre with a direction to stop the misuse of the property.

The CBI further submitted that a month before the accident, Kishor Singh Kushwaha, a civil services aspirant, had lodged an online complaint against the basement being used for coaching purposes and thus endangering students. Students and staff told the CBI that the basement flooding was a regular affair, it was submitted.

The investigating agency had in October filed the chargesheet against six accused, namely Parvinder Singh, Harvinder Singh, Sarabjit Singh, and Tajinder Singh — the co-owners of the building where Rau’s IAS was allegedly running a library in the basement; coaching centre CEO Abhishek Gupta; and centre coordinator Deshpal Singh. Currently, all the accused are out on interim bail.