A day after three young civil services aspirants lost their lives in a flooded basement of their coaching institute in Old Rajendra Nagar area, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) launched an operation to clear illegal encroachments in the area on Monday. A video shared by news agency ANI showed bulldozers demolishing the footpath, which had been constructed by covering the sewer outside the institute.
Additionally, the Delhi Municipal Corporation Commissioner Ashwani Kumar dismissed the local Junior Engineer (JE) and suspended the Assistant Engineer (AE) on Monday. This is the first major action taken against officials since the incident.
#WATCH | Earth movers put into action to remove encroachment over drains in Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar after the incident of death of 3 UPSC aspirants due to drowning in an IAS coaching institute pic.twitter.com/NR6sjw5a7b
— ANI (@ANI) July 29, 2024
Three civil services aspirants — two women and one man — died after a library in the basement of Rau’s IAS centre was flooded during heavy rains on Saturday night, reportedly causing the single biometric entry and exit point to fail.
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Five arrested in coaching centre flooding case
Delhi Police have arrested five more individuals, including the basement owner, in connection with the deaths caused by the flooding at a UPSC coaching institute in Old Rajinder Nagar. Those arrested include the basement owners and a person who allegedly drove a vehicle that damaged the building’s gate, several media outlets reported.
Previously, the police had detained two individuals—the owner and the coordinator of Rau’s IAS Study Circle — on Sunday. This brings the total number of arrests in the case to seven.
The driver was arrested under sections specified in the FIR, which includes sections 105, 106(1), 115(2), 290, and 3(5) of the BNS. Among those arrested are the basement owner and the driver of the black vehicle implicated in the gate damage. Delhi Police clarified that the black vehicle involved was a Force Gurkha, not a Thar.
Illegal coaching centres in Rajinder Nagar sealed
On Sunday, the MCD sealed 13 basements of coaching centres in Old Rajinder Nagar that were operating illegally. An MCD statement indicated that these centres were running in violation of regulations.
Following a fire at a coaching institute in Mukherjee Nagar last year in November, the MCD conducted a survey of similar at-risk centres. “To begin with, the survey will be used to identify those flouting norms,” an official stated.
MCD to set up high-level committee to investigate the flooding
The MCD will establish a high-level committee to investigate the flooding incident. “There was gross criminal negligence by the institute owner... The students could have escaped if the exit had been unobstructed. The MCD approves building plans, but if a basement declared for parking and storage is misused for commercial activities, what more can the agency do to ensure safety?” an MCD official told news agency PTI.
