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One month on, Rajendra Nagar deaths ripple through fraternity
On July 27, three IAS aspirants enrolled with a coaching centre in central Delhi, drowned after the library of the institute got flooded following heavy rain.
New Delhi: On July 27, three IAS aspirants enrolled with a coaching centre in Old Rajendra Nagar in central Delhi, drowned after the library of the institute which was illegally operating out of the building’s basement flooded following heavy rain.
The incident led to widespread outrage — thousands of people living in the Capital to prepare for competitive exams staged a demonstration outside Rau’s IAS Study Circle, the coaching centre in question, for 19 days, demanding accountability from city officials.
Public anger and pressure from the families of the deceased — Tanya Soni, 21, Shreya Yadav, 25, and Nevin Delvin, 25 — also led the authorities to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), while civic bodies began cracking the whip on institutes across Delhi that were illegally operating from basements, sealing at least 128, while a further 26 coaching centres have vacated their premises.
However, one month on, while the rest of the city has moved on to the next outrage, the city’s IAS aspirants are still haunted, struggling to cope with what they endured that fateful evening.
Survivor’s trauma
A 21-year-old IAS aspirant from Tamil Nadu, who moved to Delhi in October 2023 and enrolled himself with Rau’s IAS Study Circle, was studying in the library with Soni, Yadav, and Delvin on July 27 when water rapidly filled the basement. He said that they were used to water entering the basement — it was a common occurrence whenever it rained heavily — but he did not anticipate a flash flood.
“The library manager and the security staff shouted that we should pack up and leave quickly, but within seconds, water filled up till a little over the waist. There were two exits from the library, and the front one was the one most often used, used but the pressure of the water broke the glass door. I managed to get out, but returned to the basement to rescue my friends who were stuck,” the 21-year-old said, on condition of anonymity.
Though he managed to scramble out a second time physically unscathed, mentally he has been scarred — the events of that evening still torment him.
“I have relived the moment so many times in my mind. The images keep coming back. I wish we could help them (the deceased), like we helped the others who were trapped,” the 21-year-old said.
Since that day, the events at Old Rajendra Nagar are all anyone wants to talk to him about.
“Everyone knew I was there, and it didn’t help me much to relive the incidents day after day. However, I am much better now,” he said.
The last protester
A day after the deaths at Rau’s IAS Study Circle, thousands of aspirants for competitive exams began a protest at the site of the tragedy, demanding that authorities crack the whip on institutes in the area that broke municipal codes, and calling for action against officials complicit in the breaking of rules.
However, as the days went on, the number of demonstrators dwindled for a variety of reasons — rains continued to pound the city, their studies were getting affected. However, Ram Vilash Singh, a 31-year-old IAS aspirant, kept at it for 19 days — towards the end, he was one of the handful protesters still at the time.
Though he too has suspended the demonstration, Singh said has no trust in the authorities and believes that nothing is going to change at Old Rajendra Nagar.
“On August 15, when the protest concluded, police said that a booth will be installed to attend to our grievances specifically. It hasn’t been installed yet, maybe it will be in the future. However, our real demands, such as regulating the rates of paying guest accommodations and fees by coaching centres… I don’t think they will do anything about it,” he said.
Singh said that flooding due to rainwater is still very much a problem in the area.
“The corporation just suspended a few officials and bulldozed a few encroachments,” he said.
Uncertainty over classes
Another IAS aspirant from Rau’s IAS Study Circle has a much more pragmatic view of the impact of the July 27 incident — the disruption to classes.
The building itself was sealed last month, and while the institute is providing online classes to its students, that is far from an ideal solution for the 24-year-old, who preferred to remain anonymous.
“There are about three-four online classes a week, as opposed to six-seven physical classes earlier. There are about 50 of us in a single class, and it’s almost impossible to ask questions and clear doubts. Sometimes, the connection is not good so the voice of the teacher is not clear. This is not a feasible option in the long run,” he said.
“For a student studying for UPSC exams, every minute is usually accounted for. Most of us decide what we’ll study when, how long we’ll take to revise it, and when we’ll take the mock tests. The delay and interruption in classes are causing stress to many of us,” the 24-year-old added.
HT reached out to Rau’s IAS Study Circle, but the institute did not comment on its student’s remarks.
The trauma of families
Dharmendra Yadav, 52, has been struggling to go to his niece’s paying guest accommodation in Old Rajendra Nagar for a month. He has been procrastinating the visit to gather courage, he said — it was under his guardianship that Shreya Yadav came to Delhi to prepare for UPSC exams this May. “I just can’t get myself to visit her room. The thought of her not being there haunts me. She was so young... So bright... She had her whole life in front of her but she was killed because of irresponsible behaviour by some people,” he said.
Yadav said that he and the other families are now waiting for the CBI investigation, and are following court proceedings.
“Now, since the case is already underway, we can only file an intervention if we feel unsatisfied at any point,” he said.
The incident has also left Soni’s parents scared beyond words, her uncle said, on condition of anonymity. Her brother, studying in Class 9, had recently enrolled in a coaching institute in Hyderabad to prepare for engineering, but the parents have cancelled his admission.
Meanwhile, Nevin’s family said it is unhappy with the CBI investigation as the agency has not broadened their probe to the municipal corporation.
“They are only concentrating on what happened at the building. Suspending a junior official from MCD is just eyewash,” uncle SR Biju said.
