The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has sealed at least 13 “illegal” coaching centres in Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar following the tragic deaths of three civil service aspirants in the flooding of a basement coaching institute in the same area.
The civic body continued its action until late Sunday night after Tania Soni, Shreya Yadav, and Navin Delvin were killed when water suddenly inundated the basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle on Saturday evening.
The sealed coaching centres include 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.
“These coaching centres were found to be operating in basements in violation of rules, and they were sealed on the spot, with notices pasted,” an order by Municipal Corporation of Delhi Mayor Shaili Oberoi stated.
Rau’s IAS Study Circle had already been sealed by the police, and its owner, Abhishek Gupta, and coordinator, Deshpal Singh, have been arrested and charged with culpable homicide.
Delhi Coaching Centre Deaths
Tania Soni, Shreya Yadav—both aged 25—and Navin Delvin, 28, died when water gushed into the basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle, which was being used as a library in violation of rules.
Several other students were trapped in the waterlogged basement and were rescued after a seven-hour operation.
Tania Soni, originally from Bihar’s Aurangabad, was a student of Delhi University and had been staying at a women’s hostel of Delhi University’s Maharaja Agrasen College. She had joined the coaching institute one and a half months ago.
Shreya Yadav, from Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkar Nagar, had previously stayed at a PG Hostel in west Delhi’s Shadipur area and had joined the coaching institute two months ago. She held a BSc in agriculture from a college in Uttar Pradesh.
Navin Delvin, from Ernakulam in Kerala, was pursuing a PhD in Arts and Aesthetics from Jawaharlal Nehru University. He had been attending the coaching institute for eight months and was residing in rented accommodation near the university in the Vasant Kunj area.
Investigation reveals multiple lapses
Investigations have revealed multiple lapses on the part of the coaching centre’s owner and civic authorities.
Rau’s IAS Study Circle received a No-Objection Certificate from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi in August 2021, which specified that the basement was intended for parking and household storage. The coaching centre also obtained an NOC from the fire department earlier this month, stating that the building complied with fire safety requirements and that the basement should be used strictly as per building bye-laws.
The building bye-laws mandate adequate arrangements to prevent surface drainage from entering the basement. If used for office or commercial purposes, the basement must have a sufficient number of exit ways and access ways. In the case of the Old Rajinder Nagar coaching centre, there was only one entry/exit.
Local residents blame the poor drainage system in the area, which they say was clogged with silt and overflowed, leading to the flood-like situation following rains.
The coaching centre owner Abhishek Gupta and coordinator Deshpal Singh have been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody.
Police have registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 105 (culpable homicide), 106(1) (death caused by a rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide), 115(2) (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), and 290 (negligent conduct with respect to building maintenance).
