Delhi civic body seals illegal coaching centers in wake of UPSC students' death by drowning in basement library

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has started action against illegal coaching centers and will set up a high-level committee to probe the flooding of the basement of a coaching institute which led to three civil services aspirants' deaths, an official said late on July 28.

A team of the civic body reached west Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar area to seal several illegally-run basements of coaching centers, a statement by the Delhi government said, adding that around 13 such coaching centers were sealed during the action.

These included IAS Gurukul, Chahal Academy, Plutus Academy, Sai Trading, IAS Setu, Topper's Academy, Dainik Samvad, Civils Daily IAS, Career Power, 99 Notes, Vidya Guru, Guidance IAS, and Easy for IAS.

"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," the statement said.

The Rau's IAS Study Circle, where the incident took place on July 27, has been sealed by the police.

The MCD had last year conducted a survey of such coaching centers after a massive fire broke out at an institute in Mukherjee Nagar, another coaching hub in north Delhi.

"To begin with, the survey will be used to identify those flouting norms," the official said.

The three students preparing for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams ― two females, Tanya Soni (25) and Shreya Yadav (25); and a male, Nevin Dalvin (24) ― died after a library housed in the basement of Rau's IAS center got inundated due to heavy rain on the night of July 27 and reportedly led to the failure of the single biometric entry and exit point.

"A gross criminal negligence is found on 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," the MCD official said.

"The students could have escaped had the exit been free. The MCD only approves the building plan but if somebody misuses the basement for commercial activities after declaring it will be used for parking and storing purposes, what else can the agency do to ensure protection?" he said.

The official said storm drains in the area, which carry excess rainwater to bigger drains, were covered by "encroachers on street sides" and contributed to the flooding.

"Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi has held a meeting of the officials in this regard and setting up of a high-level committee after talks with the Delhi government will be announced soon," another official said.

The death of the civil services aspirants has expectedly given political parties a chance to throw rocks at each other, with Delhi's opposition parties terming the incident a "murder" and a “man-made disaster,” as they attacked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led MCD and government over the tragedy.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP, however, sought to blame the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the incident, saying though it was in power in the municipal body for 15 years, it neglected the city's drainage system.

"Our government has been in power for the last one year and we are working on drainage. I do not want to get into any blame game. I want that there should be an impartial investigation and strict action taken against those responsible," Rajinder Nagar Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) and MCD in-charge Durgesh Pathak said.

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, while terming as "murder" the death of the students, said they had come to Delhi to build their future but instead became “victims of corruption.”

The (waterlogging) issue was brought to the notice of Pathak on July 22 and then again on July 24 by locals but "he did not do anything" about it, BJP's New Delhi Member of Parliament (MP) Bansuri Swaraj claimed and said the incident could have been avoided.

"Pathak and the Kejriwal government's negligence led to the death of the three students," she said.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said this is a “man-made disaster.”

"The students had come from far-off places to study in Delhi. But what is the system for separating illegal structures from legal structures? Is the MCD looking into it? What about the drainage system? All these questions plague these controversies around these deaths," he said.

Last week, a civil services student died of electrocution after touching a live wire, he said. Is this how students coming to Delhi should be treated, Khera asked, adding that action has to be taken, accountability has to be fixed, and Delhi cannot be seen as such an "insensitive" city.

A probe into 26-year-old Nilesh Rai's death was conducted by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of west Delhi's Patel Nagar area, where the incident occurred.

On July 22, Rai was electrocuted after he touched the gate that had electricity running through it following heavy rains. Rai, an engineer and a native of Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, had stepped out of his PG accommodation to buy something.

In the probe report, the Patel Nagar SDM stated that wire of a water pump was in contact with the iron gate that the victim touched accidentally, leading to his death.

The wire with "damaged insulation" was found touching the iron gate at several points. This wire supplied electricity to a water pump, it stated.

"Heavy rainfall on the day of the incident likely exacerbated the situation, resulting in the death of victim Nilesh Rai," the report stated.

The SDM, in his report, also recommended police verification of all paying guest (PG) accommodations and a comprehensive drive by the MCD to regulate and ensure the safety of all such accommodations and residential libraries.

Senior AAP leader and Delhi Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj shared a video on X of a meeting on waterlogging and de-silting of drains. In the meeting, the Delhi chief secretary, the MCD commissioner and the PWD principal secretary were also present.

In a post on X in Hindi, he said, "Even though it is not my department, but even the minister concerned will agree. These officers cannot be transferred by the government and action cannot be taken against them. Only LG (Delhi Lt Governor) sir can take action."

"Truth of Delhi ― Everyone is saying that de-silting of drains and sewers was not done properly. Because of this entire Delhi was waterlogged. Because of that waterlogging, many people were electrocuted. The negligence of the coaching institute is there but a huge conspiracy has been hatched against the people of Delhi," Bharadwaj said.

BJP leader Sachdeva said, “Nobody is answering how the library was established in the basement. There was an incident in Mukherjee Nagar, the Delhi government had launched an investigation. What has happened to the investigation? Delhi Minister (Atishi) has still not reached the spot (Rajinder Nagar). The locals were asking for cleaning of drains. Whoever is responsible should be punished. What is the fault of students?”

Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav visited the area and held a candle march along with party workers there.

"Students are holding an agitation and they are not listening to politicians. Their agitation is right because they have lost their colleagues and friends. Those who are responsible should be punished. I have also come here to participate in their fight and will not leave till justice is served," he said.

While the political slugfest went on, Rau's IAS Study Circle's owner, Abhishek Gupta, and coordinator, Deshpal Singh, were produced before a magisterial court, which remanded the duo in 14 days judicial custody.

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

(PTI)