Pune: Alandi institute to be sealed after 8 students drown at Diveagar, lacked licence for 2 years

Pune’s Alandi civic body ordered Winners Academy to be sealed after eight students drowned at Diveagar beach and found it allegedly lacked a licence for two years.

The Alandi municipal council has ordered the immediate sealing of Winners Academy after a preliminary inquiry found that the coaching institute had allegedly been operating without the required municipal licence for nearly two years.

Winners Academy in Alandi will be sealed after eight students drowned at Diveagar beach during a trip; the civic body said the institute lacked a licence.

The action comes a day after eight 16-year-old students associated with the academy drowned at Diveagar beach in Maharashtra’s Raigad district during an educational trip, which raised questions over safety arrangements during the excursion.

According to the preliminary findings cited by the municipal council administration, Winners Academy had been operating in Alandi for around two years without obtaining an official licence from the Alandi Municipal Council for its commercial or educational activities.

Academy officials could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts.

Alandi Municipal Council chief officer Madhav Khandekar ordered action against the academy following the tragedy.

“Winners Academy was operating without an official licence and will be sealed with immediate effect. A special inquiry committee is also being constituted to conduct a detailed inspection of all private coaching classes and educational institutions in the city,” Khandekar said.

The committee will examine whether such institutions have valid municipal permissions and comply with mandatory safety requirements. It will also look into arrangements made for students during educational trips, officials said.

The incident occurred around 5.30pm when some students ventured into a restricted portion of the sea and eight of them were swept away as they reportedly failed to gauge the depth and strength of the sea currents. Their classmates and teachers raised an alarm, following which local residents and water sports operators launched a rescue operation.

The eight students whose bodies were recovered were Tanmay Dattatray Vahile, Sumeet Bharat Ahire, Pranav Ramdas Bansode, Kaiwalya Satish Wasankar, Rajveer Yuvraj Vahile, Yash Kiran Wankhede, Soham Tukaram Bhandwalkar and Kaustubh Sandeep Dond – all students of the Alandi-based Winners Academy.

The issue of parental consent has come under scrutiny. The students had reportedly submitted a consent slip for the trip, raising questions over what information was provided to parents about the excursion, including the destination, itinerary and safety arrangements. Officials are expected to examine the consent documents as part of the inquiry.

The municipal council’s wider inspection will cover private coaching classes and educational institutions operating in Alandi. Officials said the inquiry would examine licences, safety compliance and other mandatory requirements, as well as the circumstances surrounding student excursions.

“If private coaching classes, educational institutions or academies are found to be operating without valid licences or in violation of safety norms, legal action will be taken against them and they will be shut down,” Khandekar said.