NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has accused three engineers from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) of negligence in the case related to the drowning of three civil services aspirants in an illegal basement of a coaching centre in the Old Rajinder Nagar area here in 2024.
The report, however, gave a clean chit to the then deputy commissioner of MCD, Karol Bagh Zone, Kumar Abhishek, and an ex-superintending engineer, Ajay Nagpal.
The report said that the MCD has already initiated departmental proceedings against the officials accused of negligence on the recommendations of the CBI.The report was submitted following the court’s direction to conduct a further probe into the role of MCD officials in probable dereliction of duty or corrupt practices.
The report filed before the principal district and sessions judge Dinesh Bhatt states that “According to further investigation, dereliction of duty and negligence were shown by three MCD officials of the Karol Bagh Zone’s building department, namely, Arnav Datta, the then junior engineer (JE); Rajeev Kumar Jain, the then assistant engineer (AE); and Kumar Mahendra, the then executive engineer (EE). ”.
The report, dated July 8, stated that a final closure report had been submitted in compliance with the directions issued in the March 12, 2026, order and requested the court to accept the report and pass the necessary orders.
The report has further claimed that Dutta, during an inspection in September 2023, falsely reported that the basement was being used for furniture storage even though he was aware it functioned as an exam hall.
It added that Jain showed “total negligence” in his duties, as despite attending multiple hearings and having access to the building’s records, he failed to report the blatant misuse of the basement to his superiors.
Regarding Mahendra, the agency claimed that he “failed to ascertain the misuse” of the property despite this documentary evidence.
The three civil service aspirants died in a flooded basement of a coaching centre in Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar area on the evening of July 27, 2024.
Backdrop of the matter
The three civil service aspirants died in a flooded basement of a coaching centre in Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar area on the evening of July 27, 2024. On August 2, 2024, the High Court had transferred the case to the CBI, directing “a full-fledged investigation” that is not limited to criminal negligence.
