MCD crackdown on Delhi's IAS coaching centres; what police investigation found | Top updates

Shreya Yadav from UP, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Navin Dalwin from Kerala died after the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle was flooded.

Rau's IAS coaching centre deaths: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) sealed the basements of 13 civil services institutes in Old Rajinder Nagar area on Sunday, a day after three civil services aspirants' died after a library housed in the basement of Rau's IAS centre got inundated in a heavy rain. A team of the civic body reached the Old Rajinder Nagar area to seal several illegally-run basements of coaching centres, a statement by the Delhi government said.

Security personnel stand guard near a UPSC exam coaching centre after three civil services aspirants died when the basement of the coaching centre was flooded following heavy rain in New Delhi, on Sunday. (PTI)

The MCD crackdown on the properties violating building bylaws comes following massive protests by students in the Old Rajendra Nagar area Saturday night and Sunday. Shreya Yadav of Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Navin Dalwin from Ernakulam in Kerala died after the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle was flooded following heavy rain on Saturday evening.

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Meanwhile, an initial probe into the incident shows absence of drainage system and safety measures, and use of basement for commercial activities in violation of norms led to the death of the three civil services aspirants at the coaching centre.

Delhi's coaching centre deaths: Top updates

1. The Delhi Police on Sunday arrested the owner, Abhishek Gupta, and the coordinator of Rau's IAS Study Circle, Deshpal Singh, and booked them for culpable homicide and other charges.
2. The basements of 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 were sealed by the MCD by Sunday night.
3. An FIR was registered at Rajinder Nagar police station under sections 105 (culpable homicide) and 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings), among others, of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
4. According to the FIR, Abhishek Gupta accepted that there was no drainage system in the Rau's IAS coaching centre's basement, which resulted in the death of three aspirants, news agency PTI reported.
5. A senior official privy to the investigation told PTI that the probe so far has indicated two main reasons for the incident – civic authorities failed to clear the roadside drain before the onset of monsoon and there was no provision for draining out water in the basement where a library was running illegally. The Delhi Police has formed multiple teams to probe the actual cause of the incident.
6. According to a police officer, more than 35 people, including students and coaching centre staffers, were trapped on Saturday evening when water started gushing into the basement following heavy rain.
7. Meanwhile, hundreds of civil services aspirants staged a protest in the Old Rajinder Nagar and Karol Bagh Metro Station area, raising slogans “we want justice”. The protesters blocked the road next to the Karol Bagh Metro Station, causing traffic jams and prompting police intervention.
8. According to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the coaching centre had its building plan approved by the civic body in 2021. An MCD official told PTI that in the building completion certificate of the institute, it is clearly written that the basement can only be used for parking and storage. It means that the library was running illegally in the basement, the official said.
9. The Congress called for fixing accountability over the death of three IAS aspirants in Delhi, with Rahul Gandhi, in a post on X, asserting that common people are paying the price for "irresponsibility of institutions" at every level. On its part, the BJP demanded registration of cases against concerned officers for “criminal negligence” and resignation of water minister Atishi and local AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak for the death of three civil services aspirants.
10. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) demanded crackdown on illegal commercial operations in basements across Delhi. Senior AAP leader and MCD in-charge Pathak condemned the practice as a criminal activity and warned that without intervention, future incidents are inevitable.

(With inputs from agencies)