It is a matter of great relief that the cops have not challaned the water flowing in the drain for the death of three civil services aspirants who drowned in the basement of a coaching centre in the national capital, said the Delhi High Court taking a swipe at the arrest of an SUV driver who was crossing the area. 

Manuj Kathuria – who faced the charge of ‘culpable homicide not amounting to murder’ was arrested for driving on that waterlogged road beside a coaching centre before its basement got flooded, killing three students – was granted bail yesterday.

The court emphasized that the police earn respect by arresting the culprits and protecting the innocent. It warned that arresting the innocent while letting the guilty go free would be a grave injustice.

Delhi Police apologised but blamed media reports for the negative impression. 

It also directed the Delhi Police to provide a clear account of the facts, stating that failing to do so would be unacceptable and likened it to a “brothers club” approach.

The cops were directed to conduct the investigation in a scientific manner and advised not to bow to to any external pressures.

The court asked why the civic officials didn’t inform the commissioner about non-functioning storm water drains in Rajinder Nagar, adding it has “become a norm and MCD officials are not bothered”. 

The Delhi Police has arrested the owner and the coordinator of the Rau’s IAS Study Circle and charged them for culpable homicide after three students – Shreya Yadav (25) of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni (25) from Telangana and Nevin Delvin (24) from Ernakulam in Kerala – died in its flooded basement on Saturday night in Old Rajinder Nagar.

Officials have said an absence of a drainage system and safety measures and the use of the basement for commercial activities in violation of norms led to the death of three civil services aspirants at the coaching centre.

The Madras Engineering Group of the Indian Army completed the construction of a 190-feet-long Bailey bridge that will help connect the worst-affected areas of Mundakkai and Chooralmala in Kerala’s Wayanad district, which were hit by devastating landslides on Tuesday.

The construction of the bridge started at 9.30 pm on Wednesday and was completed by 5.30 pm on Thursday.

Major General VT Mathew, GOC-Karnataka and Kerala Sub-Area, crossed the bridge in his official vehicle after the structure, which has a weight-carrying capacity of 24 tonnes, was completed.

“It [the bridge] has made transportation of men and material much easier,” Major General Mathew told NDTV.

“There is hope of finding more people. We have been looking everywhere. Some people are scared of coming out of their houses. There must be people who are unable to contact for help,” he said. “We are searching for bodies too, unfortunately.”

He said the total number of dead has been given by the district officials; however, the army and others in the area have recovered 120 bodies. “The number of dead is much more. These are only the bodies we have recovered,” he added.

“We are looking at deploying radar equipment. We already have sniffer dogs working to find bodies buried deep,” Major General Mathew said.

Thermal scanners are also being used, but it has limited effectiveness as dead bodies do not emit heat, he said.

Earlier, rescue workers had made temporary wooden bridges between landmasses to cross and help stranded people. However, those temporary structures failed during heavy rain on Wednesday.

The materials for building the bridge were flown into Kannur airport from Delhi and Bengaluru and brought to Wayanad by 17 trucks.

Rescuers continue to race against time under harsh conditions to search for survivors trapped in collapsed buildings. The total number of dead has crossed 290.