Caught on cam: Moment water gushed into Delhi IAS coaching centre's basement; fire NoC lapse surfaces (WATCH)
The owner and coordinator of the Delhi coaching centre, where three students tragically died due to flooding, have been detained by the police. Meanwhile, protests have erupted across the city.
The tragic deaths of three civil services aspirants on Saturday night at a coaching centre in Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar area, caused by the basement flooding due to heavy rains, have sparked nationwide outrage. The bodies of two female students and one male student were retrieved from Rau's IAS Study Circle during the rescue operation by the NDRF following a seven-hour rescue effort.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (central) M Harsha Vardhan said, "NDRF's search operation has ended and three bodies have been recovered. NDRF's rescue operation went on for around seven hours."
The owner and coordinator of the coaching centre have been arrested by the police amidst rising protests by students across the city against the Delhi government and authorities.
The Delhi Police have charged the arrested individuals with culpable homicide and other offenses under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
"We have registered an FIR at Rajinder Nagar Police Station under sections 105 (culpable homicide), 106(1) (death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide), 115(2) (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings) and 35 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and launched an investigation. So far we have detained two people -- owner and coordinator of the coaching centre," Deputy Commissioner of Police M Harsha Vardhan said.
Shreya Yadav of Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana and Navin Dalwin from Ernakulam in Kerala were identified to have died in the incident, police added.
Meanwhile, a video circulating on social media shows water gushing into the basement, highlighting the severity of the flooding.
Adding to the tragedy, it has been revealed that the building did not have the required fire clearance from the Delhi Fire Service Department. Reports stated that the building's structural plan was never submitted for approval, thus lacking the necessary fire NoC. This revelation has fueled further outrage among students and the general public.
Following the incident, Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi on Sunday directed that take strict action be taken against commercial activities being run in basements. Oberoi instructed the MCD commissioner to enforce stringent measures against all coaching centers in Delhi under MCD jurisdiction that conduct commercial activities in basements, which she stated violate building bye-laws and do not meet regulations. Additionally, she called for an investigation to determine if any MCD officers were accountable for the incident.
"Yesterday some students were trapped in a private coaching institute being run in Rajinder Nagar due to flooding and out of them three students lost their lives. This is very shocking. This incident needs thorough investigation and swift and strongest possible action," Oberoi said.
"It is also our responsibility to ensure that such an incident does not recur in any part of Delhi," the mayor added.
"If any official is found guilty, strongest possible action be taken against them," she said.
Earlier this week, a 26-year-old civil services aspirant was electrocuted in central Delhi's Patel Nagar area after touching an iron gate following heavy rain.
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
- Delhi Fire Service Department
- Delhi coaching centre deaths
- Delhi government
- Deputy Commissioner of Police M Harsha Vardhan
- MCD
- Mayor Shelly Oberoi
- NDRF rescue operation
- Navin Dalwin
- Old Rajinder Nagar
- Patel Nagar electrocution
- Rau's IAS Study Circle
- Shreya Yadav
- Tanya Soni
- basement flooding
- building bye-laws
- building structural plan
- commercial activities in basements
- culpable homicide
- fire clearance
- heavy rains
- nationwide outrage
- student protests