Three civil services aspirants -- two females and a male -- died after a library housed in the basement of Rau's IAS centre got inundated in a heavy rain Saturday night.
The tragic death of three civil services aspirants after the basement of the coaching centre they studied in was flooded following heavy rain in central Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar area on Saturday has sparked massive outrage, leading to protests and action by the authorities that has resulted in the sealing of several illegally-run basements of coaching centres.
As per the latest update, the five accused have been sent to 14-day judicial custody by a Delhi court.
A team of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi reached the Old Rajinder Nagar area to seal several illegally-run basements of coaching centres, a statement by the Delhi government said on Sunday. Track LIVE Updates In Delhi Coaching Centre Deaths Case
Around 13 such coaching centres were sealed during the action till late Sunday night. The Rau's IAS Study Circle, where the incident took place on Saturday, has been sealed by the police and the process of the building's NOC has been initiated.
Delhi Coaching Centre Mishap Victims: Three civil services aspirants -- two females and a male -- died after a library housed in the basement of Rau's IAS centre got inundated in a heavy rain Saturday night and reportedly led to the failure of the single biometric entry and exit point. Shreya Yadav of Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Navin Dalwin from Ernakulam in Kerala died in the incident.
Owner Of Coaching Centre, 6 Others Arrested: The absence of a drainage system and safety measures, and use of the basement for commercial activities in violation of norms led to the death of the three civil services aspirants at the coaching centre, officials and students said on Sunday. The Delhi Police on Sunday arrested the owner Abhishek Gupta and coordinator Deshpal S of the coaching centre -- Rau's IAS Study Circle -- and booked them for culpable homicide and other charges. On Monday, Delhi Police arrested five more people in the case.
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What Led To The Incident? While there was no official word, some students alleged that the incident took place after several people got trapped in the basement due to the malfunctioning of an entry-exit biometric system. According to the officials, the three-storey coaching institute, surrounded by residential and commercial establishments, had permission to use the basement as a store room, but it was being used as library in violation of the rules. MCD commissioner Ashwani Kumar on Monday said a junior engineer has been terminated and an assistant engineer has been suspended for lapses.
Likely Main Reasons For Mishap: According to the FIR, coaching centre's owner Abhishek Gupta accepted that there was no drainage system in the basement, which resulted in the death of three people. A senior official privy to the investigation, cited in a news agency PTI report, said the probe so far has indicated two main reasons for the incident -- civic authorities failed to clear the roadside drain before the onset of monsoon and there was no provision for draining out water in the basement where a library was running illegally.
How Did The Basement Flood: A police officer said more than 35 people, including students and coaching centre staffers, were trapped on Saturday evening when water started gushing into the basement following heavy rains. According to sources in the police department cited by PTI, the basement's gate was closed, but due to the high pressure of the rainwater that gushed in, it got damaged.
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Car Wading Through Water In Focus: While multiple videos of the incident surfaced, showing the flooded basement, water gushing inside and bodies being pulled, one footage of an SUV passing through the water accumulated outside the coaching centre, splashing it on its gate, is in focus. The video also showed the gate coming down, shortly after the car passed, seemingly due to the strong flow of water that can be seen entering the institute. The police also on Monday said the car waded through the rainwater due to which the water flow increased and the door of the basement got knocked down. Owner of the car was among the five people arrested on Monday.
Incident Sparks Protest: The incident sparked protest by hundreds of civil services aspirants in the area, who raised slogans "We want justice" and blocked the road next to the Karol Bagh Metro Station, causing traffic. A political blame game also began as the BJP and the Congress attacked the AAP government, calling the incident a "murder".
13 Rajinder Coaching Centres Sealed: Taking action over illegal coaching centres after the incident, the Delhi government on Saturday said 13 such centres with illegally run basements were sealed. These included IAS Gurukul, Chahal Academy, Plutus Academy, Sai Trading, IAS Setu, Topper's Academy, Dainik Samvad, Civils Daily IAS, Career Power, 99 Notes, Vidya Guru, Guidance IAS, and Easy for IAS. Meanwhile, bulldozers were seen demolishing alleged encroached portions of the IAS coaching institute on Monday.