Delhi Coaching Centre Deaths: CBI tells court no evidence against senior MCD officials
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has informed a Delhi court that it found no evidence to prosecute any senior Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) official for criminal negligence in connection with the 2024 deaths of three UPSC aspirants at Rau's IAS Coaching Centre in Old Rajendra Nagar.
In a closure report submitted before the Rouse Avenue Court, the CBI said it had examined the role of two senior MCD officials—then Karol Bagh Zone Deputy Commissioner Kumar Abhishek and then Superintending Engineer Ajay Nagpal—but found no material to establish criminal liability against them. According to the agency, both officials were unaware that the basement of the building was being illegally used as a library because subordinate officers had not informed them.
The CBI stated that Arnav Kumar Dutta, then a junior engineer with the MCD, had already been chargesheeted in the case. The agency alleged that Dutta knowingly failed to report the unauthorised commercial use of the basement despite conducting multiple inspections, allowing the illegal activity to continue.
The agency also noted that departmental action had been initiated against an assistant engineer and an executive engineer for negligence and dereliction of duty. However, it maintained that there was no cogent evidence to prosecute any other civic official.
The case relates to the July 27, 2024 tragedy, when heavy rain led to flooding in the basement of Rau's IAS Coaching Centre, resulting in the deaths of three UPSC aspirants—Nevin Dalvin, Tanya Soni and Shreya Yadav. The basement, sanctioned only for parking and storage, was allegedly being used illegally as a library.
The closure report has been filed following a court-directed probe into whether senior MCD officials were responsible for allowing the unauthorised use of the basement. The matter has now been listed for consideration before the court on July 28.
