The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Sunday sealed 13 illegally run basements of coaching centres in Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar, a day after three civil service aspirants died after being trapped in the flooded basement of Rau's IAS Study Centre amid heavy rainfall. According to a statement by the MCD, the sealed coaching centres were found to be operating in basements in violation of rules.
List of 13 coaching centres which MCD took action:
- 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
- Easy for IAS
Last year, the MCD had conducted a survey of coaching centres after a massive fire broke out at a coaching hub in Mukharjee Nagar in the national capital. “To begin with, the survey will be used to identify those flouting norms,” an MCD official said, as quoted by PTI.
On Saturday, three UPSC aspirants - Shreya Yadav from Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Nivin Dalwin from Ernakulam, Kerala - died after a library housed in the basement of Rau's IAS centre got inundated after a heavy rainfall, reportedly leading to the failure of the single biometric entry and exit point in the coaching centre.
According to the police, there were around 30 students in the coaching centre - out of which 12 to 14 were rescued and taken to a hospital, while others managed to escape.
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Following the tragedy, the Delhi police on Sunday arrested two people - Abhishek Gupta, 41, the CEO and owner of the institute, and DP Singh, 60, coordinator - under charges of culpable homicide.
{{/usCountry}}Following the tragedy, the Delhi police on Sunday arrested two people - Abhishek Gupta, 41, the CEO and owner of the institute, and DP Singh, 60, coordinator - under charges of culpable homicide.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, the MCD will set up a high-level committee to investigate the flooding of the coaching centre's basement.
“A gross criminal negligence is found on the part of the owner of the institute…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?” an MCD official told PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)