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‘Missing’ student after Delhi's IAS coaching centre flooded clarifies he's safe: 'I left the library…'
The protesting students have been reportedly claiming that the whereabouts of some students who were at the coaching centre are still unknown.
Shortly after three civil service aspirants died after being trapped in the flooded basement of Rau's IAS Study Centre in Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar, there were reports of some other students being missing. The protesting students have been reportedly claiming that the whereabouts of some students who were at the coaching centre when the tragedy took place are still unknown.
However, one such “missing” student has clarified that he is safe and urged the media to stop using his photo, reported ThePrint.
The student, identified as Kingsley Kannan, told ThePrint that he has been living with his friend in Delhi's Sultanpur. According to him, some of his friends reached the incident spot on Saturday to look for him. However, when they could not reach him, they reported him missing to the media. But three days later, his photo is being circulated as a missing student, he claimed.
Also read: Five more arrested over coaching centre deaths
“I left the library before the tragedy struck. But, there were about 22-25 students who were sitting in the library when I left…I request the media to stop using my photo since my parents in Tamil Nadu are getting worried,” ThePrint quoted Kannan, who had joined the coaching centre last year, as saying
According to Kannan, the aspirants studying at the coaching centre had requested the management to open the underground space as a library.
However, this was not legal.
Following the incident, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has begun taking action against illegally run basements of coaching centres across the national capital. Till Sunday night, the MCD sealed over 13 such centres in Old Rajinder Nagar that were found to be operating in basements in violation of rules.
Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi on Monday assured that illegally operating coaching centres would not be spared.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) formed a high-level committee to investigate the flooding of the basement of the coaching institute. According to reports, the committee will examine the circumstances surrounding the incident, identify the responsible parties, and recommend measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
