Rau’s IAS Study Circle has announced a compensation package of ₹50 lakh each to the families of the three students who tragically drowned in its basement in Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar. The announcement comes amid ongoing investigations and legal proceedings surrounding the incident.
Advocate Mohit Saraf, representing Rau’s IAS, conveyed the institute’s commitment to providing financial relief to the bereaved families. “What we are offering is a ₹50 lakh compensation to each one of the students who has lost his life. Rs. 25 lakhs right away and Rs. 25 lakhs once Abhishek, the CEO of the organization, comes out and we can meet the financial requirement to pay the remaining Rs. 25 lakhs. I also have committed that the next part will be paid within six months… Different people have different expectations, I am a messenger,” Saraf told ANI.
The incident occurred when heavy rains led to flooding in the basement library of Rau’s IAS, which was operating illegally. The three victims—Shreya Yadav from Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Nevin Dalwin from Ernakulam in Kerala—were trapped and drowned as water filled the basement. The incident has prompted a series of arrests, including that of the institute’s CEO, Abhishek Gupta.
In an unexpected twist, the police also arrested Manuj Kathuria, the driver of an SUV, whose vehicle allegedly displaced water into the basement during the incident. However, Kathuria was granted bail by a local court on Thursday. The court released him on the grounds that he was “implicated in over-enthusiasm” and directed him not to comment on the case to the media.
The prosecution decided to drop the harsher charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against Kathuria. Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Kumar highlighted the lack of essential scientific data necessary to establish a direct link between Kathuria’s actions and the basement flooding. Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, representing Kathuria, argued that the prosecution had failed to provide critical measurements, such as the cubic volume of water on the road and the amount displaced by the SUV, making it impossible to definitively connect Kathuria’s actions to the incident.
Also read: Driver Granted Bail In Rajendra Nagar Case: Court Blasts Cops For ‘Over-Enthusiasm’
