Delhi: 3 died in UPSC coaching center, Rao IAS owner in custody
#News Bureau July 28,2024
Three civil services aspirants died after the basement of a coaching centre building in Delhi was flooded. The incident took place at Rao IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar area. Delhi Police has detained the owner of Rao IAS. The move comes after police registered a criminal case after the rescue operation was completed on Sunday morning. Meanwhile, Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi has ordered a city-wide crackdown against coaching centres that are violating building bylaws by running commercial activities in basements.
The coaching centre was flooded after heavy rains lashed parts of Delhi on Saturday. According to reports, the centre was flooded after a drain burst during heavy rains. A magisterial probe has been ordered into the incident. Delhi Fire Brigade officials confirmed to PTI that they received information about waterlogging in the basement of the coaching centre at around 7 pm. Five fire tenders were deployed for the rescue operation. Divers of the National Disaster Response Force were also deployed to rescue the trapped students.
PWD Minister Atishi directed the Chief Secretary to submit a report on Saturday’s incident within 24 hours. She said, “Strictest action should be taken against those whose negligence has led to this incident. Whoever is found guilty should not be spared and action should be taken against them on priority basis.”
New Delhi BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj said that people were constantly demanding the MLA to clean the Rajendra Nagar drain, but no one listened to them. She said, “This is the reason for this devastation. Durgesh Pathak was called, messaged, pleaded, but the drain was not cleaned. Students got electrocuted, then drowned. They have come here to study and this is what they are getting from the AAP government.”
Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Rajinder Nagar Durgesh Pathak said, “The drain had burst at one place, due to which this problem has occurred. Pumps have been installed to remove the water. If this had happened because the drains were not being cleaned, water would have accumulated in other buildings as well, but only the basement of one building is submerged because the drain has burst at only one place.’
The electrocution that Bansuri Swaraj was talking about happened on the afternoon of July 22 when Nilesh Rai, 26, who was preparing for UPSC, was returning to his paying guest accommodation in South Patel Nagar. According to officials, he touched an iron gate near his PG building to cross the waterlogged portion and immediately fell to the ground. Officials say that electricity was flowing in the gate as a bare wire was in contact.
After this incident, now the incident of death of three students due to flooding in the coaching centre has come to light. DCP (Central Delhi) M Harsh Vardhan told reporters, “The caller told us that some people are likely to be trapped. We are investigating how the entire basement got flooded. It seems that the basement got flooded very fast, due to which some people got trapped inside.
According to students present at the spot on Saturday night, the basement housed the coaching centre’s library, where students went for self-study. The Indian Express quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the basement was flooded with 10-12 feet of water in no time, leaving the students with no chance to escape.
Rajinder Nagar is known in the national capital and the country as a hub of coaching centres and paying guest accommodations, where students from far and wide come hoping to crack entrance exams. In June last year, over 60 people were injured in a fire at a coaching centre in Mukherjee Nagar. This is also one such centre.
