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Delhi UPSC aspirants' deaths: What are demands of students sitting on hunger strike?
The civil services aspirants died after they were trapped inside the library running in the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle, which was flooded due to rain.
The protest of students over the deaths of three civil services aspirants at a flooded basement of a coaching centre in Delhi entered its fourth day on Wednesday.
The civil services aspirants – Shreya Yadav of Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Navin Dalwin from Ernakulam in Kerala – died on Saturday evening after they were trapped inside the library running in the basement of Old Rajinder Nagar-based Rau's IAS Study Circle, which was flooded due to rain.
So far, the Delhi Police has arrested seven people in connection with the case. These include the CEO-owner of Rau’s Study Circle, the centre’s coordinator, four owners of the basement and the driver of an SUV, which created waves that caused the institute’s gate to break and flood the basement.
Aspirants from different coaching centres have been staging a dharna in front of Rau's Study Circle from Sunday. Some students also started a hunger strike on Tuesday against the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to press their demands.
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News agency PTI reported the protesting students are demanding ₹5 crore in compensation from the families of the deceased.
They are also demanding that the details of the first information report (FIR) filed in the case be shared, a committee report within a specified time and a prohibition on using basements for libraries and classes in Delhi.
An unidentified woman student, who is sitting on a hunger strike, told PTI that the protest will continue till their main demands are met.
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"We had a brief hope that the administration would listen to us, we would be heard by the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) coaching lobby, the authorities but after four days we have realised that this protest is going nowhere," the protesting student told PTI.
"We are not taken seriously. Just because we are aspirants, they think that we will break and after some days we will go back to our studies. We are here to make sure that justice is served," she added.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government has announced that it plans to introduce a bill to regulate coaching centres in Delhi. The bill is likely to specify the requirements such as minimum infrastructure, qualifications of the teachers, and fees.
Delhi education minister Atishi has said that the Delhi government has invited students preparing at coaching centres for a consultation at the secretariat.
