Shreya Yadav from Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Navin Dalwin from Ernakulam, Kerala, lost their lives due to flooding caused by heavy rain in the basement of Rau’s IAS Coaching Academy in Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar area on Saturday.
Protests over the number of casualties continue, with students suspecting higher fatalities than reported. They are demanding CCTV footage from the authorities.
The Delhi Fire Services’ No-Objection Certificate (NOC) revealed that the centre was only permitted to use the basement for storage, not as a library. Consequently, the DFS will request the Delhi Police to include relevant sections in the First Information Report (FIR).
Saurabh Shukla, Sub-District Magistrate of Ambedkar Nagar, said We received information about a student from Ambedkar Nagar who died in the incident. She was a promising student who went to Delhi for IAS coaching. We have sought a report from the authorities.”
Dharmendra Yadav, a relative of Shreya Yadav, expressed frustration, “I received no official information from the coaching institute or administration. I found out through the news. At the mortuary, they refused to let me see her face for identification, citing it as a police case. They showed me a paper with her name. I demand that a case of culpable homicide be lodged against the coaching institute owner.”
Rajya Sabha MP V Sivadasan stated, “We visited the incident site and spoke with the victim’s family from Ernakulam. This incident should not have occurred. Delhi lacks a proper drainage system, and coaching centres are operating basements as libraries without proper permissions. We demand a safety audit of all coaching centres and strict regulations. The government is promoting these centres while collecting significant sums from their owners.”
A classmate of Navin Dalwin shared, that Navin was pursuing a PhD from JNU. He was a regular at the library. We are struggling to come to terms with his loss.
Delhi Police arrested Abhishek Gupta and Deshpal Singh, the owner and coordinator of Rau’s IAS Study Circle, on Sunday. Deputy Commissioner of Police M Harsha Vardhan stated that an FIR has been registered under sections 105, 106(1), 115(2), 290, and 35 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and an investigation is underway.
