'Not Done Anything Wrong': Wife of SUV Driver Held in Coaching centre deaths case Defends Husband

New Delhi: Shima Kathuria, wife of businessman and arrested driver Manuj Kathuria, who is accused in the deaths of three civil services aspirants due to flooding in Delhi, says her husband was driving carefully and not speeding. She also criticised the coaching center and police response.

Manuj Kathuria, a businessman, was arrested for allegedly driving an SUV through the flooded street, which is said to have caused water to breach the gates of Rau's IAS Study Circle, leading to the flood and deaths of three UPSC aspirants due to drowning. His wife, Shima Kathuria, has come forward to defend him against claims of rash driving.

"My husband was only trying to reach a safe spot," Shima Kathuria stated, insisting that video evidence showed no rash driving. She mentioned that her husband was not speeding and was navigating carefully through the waterlogged road.

"There was no rash driving; the video is in front of everyone. My husband was not driving at a high speed. My husband was only trying to reach a safe spot," she said. 

Wife Claims Video Evidence Shows Husband Was Driving Cautiously

According to Shima, the video clearly shows the brake lights of the SUV were on, indicating cautious driving. She emphasised that Manuj was navigating carefully through the waterlogged road, maintaining a speed of about 15 to 20 km/h, not the dangerous speeds alleged.

"He was driving in first gear on the waterlogged road. The car cannot be driven at a speed of 5 km/hour in that situation. But it was not speeding either; it must have been somewhere at 15 km/hr or 20 km/hr. He was applying brakes constantly and not speeding his SUV," she explained.

Shima Kathuria Criticises Coaching Center 

Shima also criticised Rau's IAS Study Circle for operating a library in the basement without proper authorisation. "Why was the coaching institute owner running a library there when they had a NOC only for storage? When there was severe waterlogging on the roads, the police should have cordoned off the roads," she said.

Recalling the events leading up to Manuj’s arrest, Shima told how the police initially came to their home for questioning, saying there was no criminal liability. However, she said panic ensued when they later learned Manuj had been arrested.

"We are very positive. My husband has not done anything wrong. We have full faith in the judicial system, and I am sure that the court will take the right decision," Shima added.

The victims, Shreya Yadav, Tanya Soni, and Nevin Dalwin, were preparing for their civil services examinations in the basement library when the floodwaters submerged the coaching institute.