'How Was He Supposed to Know': Wife of SUV Driver Held in Coaching Centre Deaths

The Tis Hazari Court on 31 July denied bail to Manuj Kathuria in relation to the UPSC coaching centre deaths.

The Delhi Police on Sunday arrested 49-year-old businessman Manuj Kathuria in relation to the UPSC coaching centre deaths in Old Rajinder Nagar.

(Photo: Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

"My husband did nothing wrong. In fact, he was helping two people reach the (Karol Bagh) metro station safely during the rains," said Shima, wife of 49-year-old businessman Manuj Kathuria who was arrested in connection with the deaths of three UPSC aspirants inside the flooded basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle.

Kathuria has nothing to do with either the coaching centre or the building that housed it.

Around 6:30 pm on the evening of Saturday, 27 July, Kathuria drove past the waterlogged road in front of the institute in Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar, less than a kilometre from his house. He returned home and told his wife 41-year-old wife Shima about the condition of the roads.

"I remember after Manuj got back home on Saturday… he told me how the roads were waterlogged heavily. Next morning, we woke up to the news of the tragedy at the IAS centre. Both of us were shocked and saddened by it, since it was so close to home. Manuj told me he drove past the centre too..."

Less than 24 hours later, on Sunday, 28 July, the Delhi Police arrested him for allegedly having forced a wave of water that contributed to the breaking of the iron gate of the coaching centre which flooded the underground library, eventually leading to the three casualties.

Police said that Kathuria was booked under the initial First Information Report (FIR) of sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 115 (2) (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), among others. He was sent to a 14-day judicial custody on Monday, 29 July.

The Tis Hazari Court on Wednesday, 31July, however, rejected the bail application filed by Kathuria.  

"This was not his fault. He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Why is he being blamed?"

'Video Doesn't Show Him Speeding or Even Touching the Gate'

In a video widely shared online, Kathuria's Force Gurkha SUV can be purportedly seen driving past the coaching centre. The gate subsequently collapsed due to the force of the water.

"The video clearly shows that my husband didn’t even touch the gate. It doesn't show that he was speeding as claimed by the police. Culpable homicide not amounting to murder is a very serious charge to put against someone who had no idea or no intention to cause this," Shima told The Quint.

Family members also said that since the water was up to the car bonnet, "had he stopped the car, it wouldn’t have restarted. Anyone who drives can understand that in such a situation, you don’t stop the car."

The Quint could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

Speaking to this reporter at the Tis Hazari Court, Kathuria's wife Shima recalled how police officials picked up her husband from their home, stating they were taking him to the police station for questioning.

"At around 5:30 pm on Sunday, the police showed up at our house. They said that CCTV footage showed that Manuj's car was passing by the coaching centre. They wanted to take him to the police station and asked us not to worry," she shared.

Cut to 20 minutes later, the Kathuria family received the call from Manuj informing them about his arrest.

According to DCP (Central) M Harshvardhan, Kathuria was arrested based on a video that showed him pass by the coaching institute on his vehicle at a "very high speed."

“Negligence has been established on the part of the arrested driver, who has been arrested in the Old Rajinder 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.”

DCP (Central) to news agency ANI

The DCP further told ANI, "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."

However, disputing the claim, one of Kathuria's lawyers, Rakesh Malhotra, on Monday told the court that the speed of the vehicle was just 15 km per hour while the water rose to a height of around 2.5 feet. Calling the arrest "illegal," he told The Quint that his client had "no role to play" in the incident.

"They (police) have claimed that the SUV vehicle was in 'high speed' and the gate broke because of us. The charges are false, and he has no role to play in whatever happened. It is unfortunate that this has happened, and he is being falsely accused."

Rajendra Kumar Tripathi, one of the other lawyers representing Kathuria

The family members also claimed that they were not given the FIR copy until Monday's hearing in the Tis Hazari Court. "Doesn't the law state that FIR must be provided to the family and the lawyers of the accused right after the arrest?" asked Shima.

The Quint reached out to DCP Harshvardhan multiple times over text and call. This story will be updated if and when we receive a response.

'Bizarre Allegations, Falsely Accusing Innocent Man'

"I cannot believe that my husband is in jail. He has been sent to judicial custody. He will be in Tihar jail for no fault of his own," said a worried Shima.

A close family member, who did not wish to be named, said:

"This is a shocking case of where a bystander who just happened to be at the scene of crime is being charged for no reason. It's like I am at the scene, where I don't know a crime has happened, but since I was nearby, the police arrest you. There has to be a deeper technical investigation."

During the bail hearing on Tuesday, 30 July, Kathuria's counsel said the accused did not have the knowledge of what's going to happen or had any intention to cause the incident.

"We feel that an innocent is being made a scapegoat, and the real culprits are being protected. The real culprits are government authorities like PWD, MCD, Delhi Jal Board, and those who provided fire NOC to the coaching institute. These officials have only been given a notice, or have been suspended, but my client has been arrested. Section 14(1) of (now-defunct) CrPc specifies that notice should be provided to accused. But what was the hurry to arrest him without giving him a notice?"

Rajendra Kumar Tripathi

Opposing the bail plea, Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava argued that Kathuria was not guilty of "contributory negligence," but he aggravated the incident.

During the hearing, Srivastava played a few videos taken from Kathuria's social media handles, showing him driving the SUV, and said, "I am sorry to use this term. But he is mastikhor aur masti mein inhone ye sab kar diya... He likes to have fun, and in his fun, he caused the incident."

The public prosecutor argued that since police investigation is underway, the accused, if let out on bail, may influence witnesses.

Responding to the public prosecutor, the family member said, "What the prosecutor said is nothing but character assassination of an innocent, tax-paying citizen of the country. That is bizarre."

"The police should be questioning the MCD authorities, but instead, they are arresting innocent people,” Manuj's team of lawyers asserted.

Meanwhile, Shima questioned how her husband was supposed to know the consequences of driving on a road, which was not restricted due to waterlogging.

"He was moving in first gear. It can't be murder because there is no intent. How was he supposed to know what had transpired in the basement? Arresting passersby in a vehicle will not solve the matter. He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. It could've been anyone," she said.

Meanwhile, Kathuria's family said they were "not angry, but distraught" over what has transpired over the last few days.

“We don’t have the right to be angry. Anger belongs to the families of victims who have lost their loved ones due to negligence. But this is a shocking case of a bystander being arrested for being at the crime scene. We are not blaming any authorities, but are questioning the rationale of the system as it is," the family member said.

They have not lost hope, however, the family added.

"Of course, we have not lost hope. My husband did nothing wrong. I am hopeful that he will come out soon. We have faith in the judicial system," Shima said, adding that she is confident that her husband will be out before his 50th birthday on 19 August, which they had planned to celebrate in a grand manner.