When dreams die quietly: Young lives lost due to 'negligence of authorities'; 7 arrests made so far

The Delhi Police have arrested five more people in connection with the deaths of three civil service aspirants in a Delhi basement library due to flooding, including the owner of the building of the coaching center, his son, and three of his relatives.

The owner of the Force Gurkha car, who exacerbated the flood situation as he drove past the building in the waterlogged street, has also been arrested.

With this, the number of arrested persons has risen to seven, including Abhishek Gupta, the owner, and Deshpal Singh, the coordinator of the coaching center.

On the night of July 27, heavy rains inundated a library located in the basement of Rau's IAS center, which reportedly caused the failure of the single biometric entry and exit point, resulting in the death of the three students.

The deceased students were identified as Tanya Soni (25) of Telangana, Shreya Yadav (25) of Uttar Pradesh, and Nevin Dalvin (24) of Kerala, all three preparing for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams.

Police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Section 105 (culpable homicide), Section 106 (1) (death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide), Section 115 (2) (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), and Section 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing, or constructing buildings).

The owner and the coordinator of the coaching center were brought before a magistrate's court, which remanded them in judicial custody for 14 days.

Each floor of the building is registered under the names of different people. The iron gate of the coaching center had blocked the water from getting inside the basement, but the impact of the waves created by the vehicle Gurkha parked in front of the gate damaged the gate and led the water to gush inside the basement, worsening the situation.

A month before this incident, another civil servant aspirant, Kishor Singh Kushwah, filed a complaint, pointing out the risks associated with using the basement for classes or as a library.

He said he had written to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the state government, and the Union government regarding Rau's IAS Study Circle's use of the basement as a library and the resulting risk to the staff and students' lives.

The complaint claimed that Rau's IAS is using the basement for classes without a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the authorities. The letter was addressed to Kumar Mahendra, executive engineer of the construction department in the Karol Bagh zone.

"This is endangering the lives of students and staff and may lead to a big accident," the complaint reads. Kushwah accused UPSC coaching centers of corruption and vowed to take tough measures against them for breaking safety regulations and endangering the lives of their students.

The complaint urged authorities to take swift action with Kushwah sending two reminders. He wrote on July 15, "Sir, please take strict action on this issue as it is very important and urgent." Again on July 22, Kushwah sent out a reminder, saying, "Sir, please take action; it's an issue of student safety."

According to the government's public grievance portal, the case is pending. Before the problem could be fixed, the basement flooded on July 27 night after a heavy downpour. There were at least 20 students trapped in the library of the IAS coaching center. While some of them could be rescued, three of them died.

The tragedy provoked protests and outrage, with people accusing officials and the state government of incompetence that resulted in the students' deaths.

Kushwah said he filed a complaint against Rau's IAS Study Circle through the government's public grievance portal. He blamed the administration for the deaths, saying, "If the administration had acted in time, this tragedy could have been avoided. Government officials accept bribes and approve such coaching facilities without ever checking to see if the requirements are fulfilled. MCD is completely liable."

"Every underground library in old Rajinder Nagar is unlawful. They do not have a fire safety approval. And the staircases are 3 to 4 feet wide, so many students are unable to hurry out in an emergency," he said.

Under pressure, the MCD has sealed 13 coaching centers—IAS Gurukul, Chahal Academy, Plutus Academy, Sai Trading, IAS Setu, Topper's Academy, Dainik Samvad, CivilsDaily IAS, Career Power, 99 Notes, Vidya Guru, Guidance IAS, and Easy for IAS—in the Old Rajinder Nagar area as part of a crackdown on illegal and dangerous basement use.

These coaching centers were found to be operating in basements in violation of rules, and they were sealed on the spot and notices were pasted.

Police said that as water entered the facility, authorities turned off the electricity to prevent electrocution, which also caused the biometrics to turn off. In less than five minutes, there was around 5-7 feet of water in the basement.

According to the FIR, students called the police as early as 6.30-7 pm for assistance. After receiving the call, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Birender arrived at the scene, along with head constable Sunil. The police discovered significant waterlogging in front of the institute's building and notified the police station of the severity of the problem.

"We informed the station house officer (SHO) and went to the location. Upon arriving, I noticed that nearly three feet of water had gathered on the road and in the parking lot of Rau's IAS Study Center, and numerous students were stuck in the basement library," the FIR reads.

The SHO notified the control room of the calamity and requested help from the fire department, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and ambulances.

Delhi fire services and NDRF crews rushed on the spot and began pumping out the water with the assistance of Delhi Fire Services. Meanwhile, NDRF divers began conducting a search and rescue operation in the basement. The divers discovered three deceased bodies in the basement. They were promptly transferred to Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (RML) for medical assessment.

Atul Garg, director of the Delhi Fire Service, said the owner obtained the NOC for storage purposes rather than to operate the library. According to the NOC, the structure was ground plus three levels, with a basement and stilt parking. They completed the examination on July 1, and the panel of fire experts determined that the building was suitable for NOC, which began on July 9 for three years.

The coaching center got an NOC from the MCD in August 2021. Both NOCs now stand revoked.

On July 29 morning, a junior engineer with the MCD was sacked and a senior employee was suspended. Both officials worked with the maintenance department for the Karol Bagh Zone.

"When the fire brigade arrived, they saw book bundles and chairs organized to resemble a storage space. The coaching staff had intended for the area to appear like a storage place," the officer added.

"Gross criminal negligence is found on the part of the owner of the institute in ensuring safety measures as the library in the basement was running illegally and had only one entry and exit point that was biometric-enabled and got locked due to the flooding," an official of MCD said.

MCD Mayor Shelly Oberoi has ordered an investigation into the incident to determine whether any of his department officers were engaged in the negligence that caused the tragedy. She also said that all coaching institutes that have breached the law will face consequences.

Shashi Tharoor and Jebi Mather, both Congress party members of the parliament from Kerala, visited RML Hospital of Delhi on July 29 morning to express their condolences to the families of the three students who died.

"The family of the boy from Kerala is here, and the postmortem is going to take place, so we don't want to make this an issue right now, but the fact remains that there is a gross failure on the part of both the government and the MCD, and such incidents are becoming more common as coaching centers with no proper facilities are set up," Mather said.

"So, this is a case where I have asked a question also in Parliament, and I have received an answer, but right now since the family is here, we don't want to make it an issue at that level because we stand with the families and those three deceased," she added.

Delhi student writes to Chief Justice of India

A Delhi student, Avinash Dubey, wrote a letter to Chief Justice DY Chandrachud demanding action against city officials and others responsible for the deaths of his three fellow students.

He highlighted that poor infrastructure in areas like Rajendra Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar, and drainage issues along with "negligence" by the MCD, cause residents inconvenience. He asked for the protection of students' fundamental rights.

The Chief Justice is yet to decide if the letter will be viewed as a petition.

"Due to rain, the basement got filled with water and three students lost their lives. Sir, areas like Mukherjee Nagar and Rajendra Nagar have been facing the problem of waterlogging every year for many years due to the negligence of the Municipal Corporation. We have to walk in knee-deep drain water... today students like us are preparing for (our exams) while living a life of hell...," his letter read.

Flood waters and sewage sometimes enter homes also, he complained.

"Students like us are moving towards our goal by any means. But yesterday's incident proved the lives of students are not safe... Delhi government and Municipal Corporation force us to live a life like (pests)..." he wrote.

"Sir... it is our fundamental right to study while living a healthy life. The above incident is extremely heart-rending and worrying. Due to waterlogging, there is a serious threat to the safety and health of students studying in (such) centres... students need a safe and healthy environment so they can study without fear, and contribute to the development of the country..." Dubey wrote in the letter.

Earlier, a 26-year-old civil service aspirant Nilesh Rai also became a victim of the poor drainage system and waterlogging issue in the city. He was electrocuted after he touched an iron gate following heavy rain in west Delhi's Patel Nagar area.