Two arrested day after three UPSC aspirants die in flooded basement illegally used as coaching centre library

UPSC aspirants death in Rau’s IAS Study Circle basement: Delhi police arrests coordinator of the coaching centre and owner of the building, and books them for culpable homicide.

A day after three UPSC aspirants drowned in the basement of a private coaching centre, Rau’s IAS Study Circle, the Delhi police arrested the coordinator of the centre and the owner of the building, and booked them for culpable homicide. The accused have been sent to 14 days of judicial custody

The deceased have been identified as Shreya Yadav, 25, from Uttar Pradesh; Tanya Soni, 25, from Telangana; and Nevin Dalvin, 28, from Kerala, police said.

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The students died in a library which was “illegally” running in the basement of the coaching centre, according to Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Mayor Shelly Oberoi. “This building was built in 2021. Library or other commercial activity was not allowed in its basement. Only car lift, parking and storage were allowed here,” Ms. Oberoi said. The basement had flooded after a drain burst following heavy rains in the area on Saturday evening.

The mayor also ordered the MCD Commissioner to take “immediate” action against all coaching centres running commercial activities in basements against the rules. The MCD sealed three basements operating illegally in the Rajinder Nagar area on Sunday evening, according to an official statement. 

The cause of the flooding is still being investigated. “It was told that a drain passing in the front of the building burst, and like a flash flood, water entered the basement and the students got trapped,” Ms. Oberoi told journalists. She and another MCD official, however, said that none of the other buildings next to the centre had faced any flooding. Later in the evening, the MCD said in a statement, “The so-called bursting of drainage outside the coaching centre is not conclusive and the matter is under investigation.”

Since Sunday morning, students from different coaching institutes and residential complexes have been protesting the deadly negligence behind the tragic deaths. Holding placards saying, “Old Rajender Nagar is not safe”, students said such a disaster was waiting to happen. Many flagged the issues of poor drainage systems and frequent water logging inside basements in the area. A number of shopkeepers have also shut their shops and removed their boards from basement shops.