Sunday, 08 September 2024
Sunday, 08 September 2024
After seven hours of rescue efforts, the NDRF has ended its search at the coaching centre in Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar area where three civil services aspirants died last night when the basement of the building was flooded following heavy rains, officials said on Sunday.
The three deceased persons have been identified as Navin Dalwin from Kerala, Shreya Yadav from Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkar Nagar, and Tanya Soni.
"NDRF has recovered three bodies till now. One final round of search is on. Three students have been sent to hospital and 13-14 others were rescued and are fine," official said. Multiple charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder and causing death by negligence, have been invoked.
The tragic incident occurred at a building in Rajendra Nagar that houses a branch of Rau's IAS Study Circle, a prominent coaching institute for civil service aspirants. The institute's library was in the basement of the building, and there was only one entry-exit. This basement was flooded following a downpour yesterday. At the time, there were at least 20 students in the library.
The basement of the coaching Institute was functioning illegally as a library, officials said on Sunday.
Rao's IAS Study Circle, the coaching institute, had falsely shown that the basement was being used for parking and as a store room, as per the building plan and No Objection Certificate (NOC) of the fire department.
The three-storey coaching centre had its building plan approved by the concerned MCD department in 2021.
"In the building completion certificate of the institute, it is clearly written that it can only be used for parking and storage in the basement. It means that the library was running illegally in the basement," an MCD official said.
MCD commissioner Ashwani Kumar, after taking charge in June, has suspended several officers from the corporation's building department.
Last week, three officers of the department were suspended at the zone where the coaching centre is located. There was immediate reaction from the commissioner on the reason behind the suspension.
The coaching institute made a similar disclosure to the fire department about the basement, thus also violating its norms, according to Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg.
Garg said, "The building has fire NOC, but in the NOC they had shown the basement as a store room. The management of the institute was using the same room as a classroom or library which is a violation of the NOC," Garg told PTI.
He further said that there was no option to de-water the basement.
Locals complained that there are several other coaching institutions in the area which operate from the basement.
Delhi Police on Sunday arrested the owner and coordinator of the coaching centre. Police has booked them under charges of culpable homicide among other charges, they said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) M Harshavardhan said a criminal case has been registered in this connection. "Our forensic teams are here. We are committed to a proper investigation and finding the truth. Two people have been detained," he said.
The DCP said that a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been lodged against the coaching centre, the management of the building and the firm/official responsible for managing the drainage system of the area at the Rajinder Nagar Police Station.
Irate students are protesting against the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the management of an IAS coaching institute in West Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar.
The protesting students, some of whom are eyewitnesses to the incident last night, claim that claimed that access to the building is controlled through a biometric system, which means that if there is a power outage, those inside have no way to exit.
"If this is the situation after 30 minutes of rain, who is responsible? No one has come to talk to us or given us any assurance. Who will fix responsibility?" a protester said.
Some students alleged that the "main culprits" are MCD and the institute's director. "MCD calls it a disaster, but I say this is negligence. Knee-deep water gathers in half an hour of rain," a student said.
Additional deputy commissioner of police Sachin Sharma, addressing the protesting students, said, "Three people have died. Why would we hide anything? We assure you that we will do everything legally possible. The investigation is ongoing."
AAP MP Swati Maliwal has also joined the protest but is being meant with slogans of “Go back Swati” by the students who are saying: “We will not let you do politics”.
Maliwal expressed strong criticism over the incident at the Old Rajinder Nagar coaching centre, where three students lost their lives. She said that students are "very sad and angry," and added that more than 12 hours have passed without any response from Delhi government ministers, the MCD mayor, or officials. Maliwal called the incident "a murder" rather than a disaster and demanded that an FIR be registered against the responsible government officials.
Maliwal also added that there is need for compensation, suggesting that each of the deceased students' families should receive Rs 1 crore. She urged the ministers and mayor to visit the site and apologise. She said that students had previously informed a counselor about drainage issues in the area 12 days prior. Maliwal pledged to raise the issue in Parliament and hold the responsible parties accountable.
Lieutant Governor V K Saxena Sunday attacked the AAP government, calling the incident “indicative of the larger malaise of misgovernance” in the national capital over the last decade.
Efforts to address drainage and related infrastructure in the city have apparently collapsed, he said in a post on X.
The L-G also said he has asked the Divisional Commissioner to submit a report, covering every aspect of this incident by Tuesday.
Expressing his condolences to the families of the deceased which includes two female students, Saxena said: “I am deeply anguished by the death of 3 Civil Services aspirants due to water logging in the basement of a coaching centre and that of another student due to water logging related electrocution. That this should happen in the Capital of India is most unfortunate & unacceptable.”
L-G Saxena said such incidents point towards criminal neglect and failure of basic maintenance, and administration by concerned agencies and departments.
“The role of coaching institutions and landlords in not ensuring basic safety of students, who pay hefty fees and rents, away from their homes needs to be looked into,” he said.
In direction to MCD Commissioner, Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi has ordered action against all coaching centres under MCD that are running commercial activities in basements in violation of laws. She has also ordered an inquiry to identify if any officer of MCD is responsible for the Rajendra Nagar incident.
“All such coaching centres across Delhi which are under the jurisdiction of MCD and running commercial activities in basements which are in violation of building bye-laws and are not as per norms, strict action should be taken against them immediately. Immediate enquiry to conducted to identify if any officers of MCD are responsible for this tragedy.
If any official is found guilty, strongest possible action be taken against them, under intimation to the undersigned.”
Delhi revenue minister Atishi has instructed chief secretary Naresh Kumar to initiate a magisterial inquiry and submit a report within 24 hours.
“Strongest possible action needs to be taken against those whose negligence has caused this incident. Whoever is found guilty should not be spared and action needs to be taken against them on priority,” Atishi said on X.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed his condolences over the deaths of UPSC aspirants in Delhi. LoP Lok Sabha noted that this was the second recent tragedy, referring to a previous incident where a student died from an electric shock during rains.
Gandhi said that these incidents underscore a systemic failure in infrastructure, poor town planning, and institutional irresponsibility. He said that the right to a safe and comfortable life is fundamental for every citizen and a responsibility of the government.
In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, "The death of students preparing for competitive exams due to waterlogging in the basement of a building in Delhi is very unfortunate. A few days ago, a student died due to electric shock during the rains." He expressed heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.
"This collapse of infrastructure is a combined failure of the system. The common citizen is paying the price of unsafe construction, poor town planning and irresponsibility of institutions at every level by losing his life," the former Congress chief said.
A safe and comfortable life is the right of every citizen and the responsibility of governments, Gandhi asserted.
“It is very sad that three young people lost their lives due to waterlogging in the basement of an IAS coaching centre in the capital Delhi due to criminal negligence of the government and administration. Our deepest condolences to their families. Earlier, another UPSC aspirant died due to electric shock caused by waterlogging in Patel Nagar. According to reports, 8 people have died due to electric shock in the last few days. Congress had made Delhi an international city. Today the capital of India is suffering the brunt of indifference. Accidents keep happening every day. It is a matter of great concern for all of us that such an incident took place in the country’s capital. We have to improve our capital so that our citizens remain safe and those who live and visit here can be assured that they will not be neglected in the country’s capital,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote in a post on X.
Calling the incident “heartbreaking,” Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra offered her condolences to the families of the three UPSC aspirants who lost their lives after the basement of a coaching institute in Delhi was flooded.
“Recently a student died due to electric shock in Patel Nagar. It is the height of carelessness and mismanagement that the lives of children who come here from far-off places to fulfill their dreams are being snatched away from them. This is criminal and irresponsible. Accountability must be fixed and most importantly, every construction, every activity that is illegal and life-threatening in the areas where competitive students live must be rectified,” she wrote on X.
CPI(M) leader K Radhakrishnan said, "All institutions are operating without adequate security measures, focusing solely on collecting money from students. We urge the government to take necessary action against them."
“This is a low-line area. Water flows through this line. The drain has broken or the sewer has broken and water has filled the basement. The teams are doing their work,” AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak said.
“BJP should also answer what they did? They had a councillor for the last 15 years, why was the drain not built? All the drains cannot be built in one year. There is no need to do politics here,” he added.
BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj criticised the AAP government, alleging that the administration ignored local residents' requests regarding drainage issues.
"These children came here to build their futures, but the government of CM Arvind Kejriwal and MLA Durgesh Pathak failed to address concerns raised by the community. For the past week, residents had urged Durgesh Pathak to clean the drainage systems. Even now, there are still 2.5 feet of water on the street. Arvind Kejriwal and Durgesh Pathak are responsible for these deaths," she stated.
