At least three Union Public Service Commission aspirants drowned on Saturday after the basement of a private coaching centre in Delhi’s Rajinder Nagar area flooded, The Times of India reported.
The victims have been identified as Shreya Yadav of Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana and Navin Dalwin from Kerala’s Ernakulam. They were students at Rau’s IAS Study Circle and were preparing to appear for the Indian Administrative Services examination.
The National Disaster Response Force, the police and fire brigade confirmed the first fatality after divers retrieved the body of a young girl at around 10.30 pm on Saturday. The body of the second victim, also a girl, was recovered around 11.15 pm.
On Sunday, the police arrested the owner of Rau’s IAS Study Circle and the coordinator of the coaching centre, PTI reported.
A first information report has been registered against them for culpable homicide and death caused by negligence, the news agency quoted M Harsha Vardhan, the deputy commissioner of police, as saying.
The incident sparked protests by students enrolled at similar coaching centres in Rajinder Nagar, reported NDTV. The protestors have demanded action against those responsible for the deaths. Paramilitary forces have been deployed to maintain law and order in the area.
Several students were detained after they staged a protest, PTI reported.
“Search and rescue operation ended,” PTI quoted Vardhan as saying. “Total three bodies were recovered from the basement. All were identified and we have informed the family members about the incident.”
Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi said that she has written to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to ensure strict action is taken against the coaching centre for violating building bylaws in Delhi, reported the Hindustan Times.
“All such coaching centres across Delhi which are under the jurisdiction of MCD and running commercial activities in basements which are in violation of building bye-laws and are not as per norms, strict action should be taken against them immediately,” a notice from the mayor said. “Immediate enquiry to conducted to identify if any officers of MCD are responsible for this tragedy.”
Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, described the deaths as “very unfortunate” and a “failure of the system”.
“A few days ago, a student died due to electric shock during the rains,” Gandhi said in a social media post, as he expressed his condolences to the bereaved families.
Gandhi was referring to the death of a 26-year-old civil services aspirant who died after coming into contact with an electrified iron gate near the Patel Nagar metro station in Delhi.
“The common citizen is paying the price of unsafe construction, poor town planning and irresponsibility of institutions at every level by losing his life,” Gandhi said. “Safe and comfortable life is the right of every citizen and the responsibility of the governments.”
Virendra Sachdeva, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Delhi chief, blamed the national capital’s Aam Aadmi Party administration for the tragedy. He claimed that Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajinder Nagar MLA, Durgesh Pathak, had ignored repeated appeals by locals to clean the area’s drains before the monsoon, reported The Indian Express.
Pathak told ANI that desilting of the drain had been carried out but there should be an inquiry into the incident and action should be taken against those responsible.
“Delhi’s drainage system has collapsed and the reason for this is that BJP was in power for 15 years,” Pathak told ANI. “We have been here for the last one year and are working on the drains, but I do not want to get into any blame game, I want it to be investigated and strict action should be taken against whoever is responsible…”
Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena said that he has asked the divisional commissioner to submit an inquiry report by Tuesday. “The role of coaching institutions and landlords in not ensuring basic safety of students, who pay hefty fees and rents, away from their homes needs to be looked into,” Saxena said on social media.
“These incidents clearly points towards criminal neglect and failure of basic maintenance and administration by concerned agencies and departments,” the lieutenant governor said. “Drainage in the city and related infrastructure, as also required efforts and endeavours to address these have apparently collapsed.”
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