The deaths of three civil services aspirants at a coaching institute in New Delhi have sparked outrage among students and demand for accountability from the Delhi government.
Shreya Yadav of Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Navin Dalwin from Ernakulam in Kerala died after the basement of the building housing the coaching centre Rau's IAS Study Circle was flooded following heavy rain in central Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar area on Saturday evening, officials said.
Students of Rau's IAS Study Circle and other institutes have expressed their anger over the incident, highlighted safety violations at coaching centres across the city, and raised questions over the "negligence" of the Delhi government.
Students held a protest and raised slogans against authorities outside the coaching centre over the deaths in the basement, which according to preliminary probe houses a library.
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"The biggest responsibility of the incident lies with Rau IAS Study Circle as the incident took place there," a student, who did not wish to be named, said.
He said Delhi authorities showed "negligence" when there were similar incidents in Mukherjee Nagar and did not take any strict action even then.
He also highlighted last week's incident in Patel Nagar, where a civil services aspirant got electrocuted in a waterlogged street following heavy rain in the National Capital.
Another student highlighted the safety concerns at the city's coaching centres. "There is a systemic problem in these coaching centres with a lack of interest in safety measures," she said.
"There are no fire exits or emergency exits. Those with a bright future are at risk. We want to serve the nation by joining the bureaucracy, and if the system doesn't work for us, we will lose faith in it," the civil services aspirant said, as she urged locals and fellow students to join the cause.
Families angry over not being allowed to see bodies of victims
Dharmendra Yadav, the uncle of Shreya Yadav, one of the deceased, shared his harrowing experience. "I saw the news about the incident late at night and called Shreya over phone, but she didn't answer," he said.
A resident of Ghaziabad, Dharmendra said when his niece did not respond to his calls, he rushed to the institute in Old Rajinder Nagar.
"When I reached the coaching centre, I was directed to RML Hospital, where I learned that a body identified as Shreya's had been found, but I was not allowed to see her," he added.
At the RML Hospital, there was anger among the relatives of the victims, who claimed they were not being allowed to see the bodies even though they have been waiting since morning.
Authorities confirmed that a call about waterlogging was received from the Rau's IAS Study Centre around 7 p.m.
Also read | Delhi coaching centre incident: People paying price for unsafe construction, says Rahul Gandhi
An officer of the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said, "We received a call at 7 p.m. regarding a basement of a coaching institute being flooded. The caller told us there is a possibility that some people were trapped."
Preliminary investigations revealed that the basement housed a library where several students were present when water suddenly started flooding the area.
Meanwhile, police said the owner and the coordinator of the coaching centre where the deaths occurred were arrested on Sunday.
