Basement deaths: Delhi Police questions coaching centre owner's father-in-law

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Tuesday questioned the father-in-law of the Rau's IAS Study Circle's owner, and also asked four municipal officers to join the investigation in the death of three students in flooded basement of the coaching institute, officials said.

A senior police officer said that they questioned V P Gupta about ownership rights of the coaching centre, adding that they may also call Rau's IAS Study Circle owner Abhishek Gupta's wife for questioning.

Police said V P Gupta has transferred the property in the name of his daughter and son-in-law.

"We are checking all the documents related to the coaching centre. Documents related to ownership of the basement will also be checked," the officer said.

Police have already arrested Abhishek Gupta and coaching centre coordinator Deshpal Singh in connection with the case. Five people, including four co-owners of the basement of the building housing the coaching centre, have also been arrested.

The driver of an SUV which drove through the flooded street, causing the water to swell and breach the gates of the three-storey building and inundate the basement, was among the five arrested. The SUV was also seized.

Abhishek Gupta, along with coordinator Deshpal Singh, was arrested on Monday 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), and 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) after three civil service aspirants died in the flooded basement following rain.

According to another official, police are likely to question four municipal officers, including an executive engineer and an assistant engineer.

About further action against violators, the official said that different directions have been issued to 'beat officers' of four different police stations -- Rajinder Nagar, Ranjit Nagar, Patel Nagar and Karol Bagh.

"We have asked beat officers and the SHOs to prepare a proper list of those buildings having basements and to identify locations where waterlogging is a major problem.

"So far more than 60 buildings were identified and the list will be shared with the senior officials of the MCD. The MCD will inform the police if those identified buildings are violating any norms," said the officer.

Three students identified as Shreya Yadav, Tanya Soni, and Nevin Dalwin died in the incident after rainwater gushed into basement of the coaching institute building in Old Rajinder Nagar on Saturday evening.