Coaching centre deaths: Plea to give back access to bldg to resume classes

New Delhi: The chief executive officer of Rau's IAS Study Circle in Old Rajender Nagar, where three UPSC students died in July due to rainwater flooding, has moved court seeking access to the building premises to resume classes.
The court of additional chief judicial magistrate Nishant Garg on Wednesday scheduled the next hearing on Aug 28. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told the court that it had preserved the digital video recorder of Rau's IAS Study Circle and the CCTV footage of Chahal Academy located in front of the coaching centre.
Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for CEO Abhishek Gupta, submitted that the access to the building was required so that the students could continue their studies.Claiming that CBI cannot prohibit access to the building, she said, "They (CBI) can prosecute me (Gupta), but they cannot prohibit me from going inside the building. That is the job of another civic agency. If you (CBI) want the building to be sealed, ask someone else to do it."
CBI, however, told the court that the basement was supposed to be used for storage and the incident took place because it was being used as a library. Claiming that the building has no safety measures, CBI said, "Such an accident can happen again in the near future."
Advocate Abhijeet Anand, appearing for J Dalvil Suresh, the father of victim Nevin Dalvil, submitted before the court that Supreme Court had ruled that no coaching centre could function without safety measures.
The court asked CBI if it had sealed the upper floors and also pointed out that nowhere had the agency mentioned that the building was illegal. CBI said it hadn't sealed the upper floors.
Senior advocate John claimed that the building complied with all safety norms. "Suppose this was a building where I (Gupta) was staying. Could have I been prevented from going in?" Stating that CBI had not arrested a single govt official, she alleged that the agency was putting "weak people" in jail.
On Wednesday, the same court heard an application moved by SUV driver Manoj Kathuria seeking the release of his vehicle from the CBI custody. The court pulled up the agency for not releasing the car. "What benefit will you get by keeping the vehicle with you? Why do you wish to keep it? You can inspect it even when you don't seize it," the court said.
Police had claimed that Kathuria was driving his SUV through the waterlogged street at a high speed, which created a wave that broke the coaching centre's gate and rainwater entered the basement, leading to the deaths of the three students.
CBI told the court that a team of experts from IIT Delhi had been engaged to obtain an opinion if the wave created by the vehicle could so impact the main gate that its rails would fall. The court, putting up the matter for Aug 28, directed the investigation officer to inform it about the specific proceedings required to be carried out by the team of experts.
The court on Wednesday also allowed an application moved by Gupta requesting the release of six vehicles parked at the stilt level of the building, after CBI said it had no objection to the removal of the vehicles.