Coaching centre deaths: MHA forms probe panel after bulldozer action

New Delhi: Five more people, including four co-owners of the basement of the coaching centre where three civil services aspirants died, were arrested on Monday and bulldozers began demolishing encroachments as anguish over the deaths echoed across the city, from parliament to the streets of Old Rajinder Nagar.

The Ministry of Home Affairs constituted a committee to inquire into the incident and said it will look into the reasons, fix responsibility, suggest measures and recommend policy changes.

While Lok Sabha members across party lines demanded an inquiry, hundreds of students continued their protests near Rau's IAS Study Circle in the west Delhi locality where the horror unfolded Saturday night, killing the three students trapped in the basement illegally used as a library as floodwaters rose outside.

The driver of an SUV which drove through the flooded street, causing the water to swell and breach the gates of the three-storey building and inundate the basement, was among the five arrested. The SUV was also seized.

All five were sent to judicial custody for 14 days by a court.

With this, the number of arrests has gone up to seven. The owner and the coordinator of the coaching institute have already been nabbed and booked for culpable homicide.

Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena announced Rs 10 lakh compensation for the kin of the three civil services aspirants, and assured action within 24 hours against officials of the Delhi Fire Services, police and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) found guilty for the incident.

The MCD, battling charges of negligence and not desilting storm water drains, terminated a junior engineer and suspended an assistant engineer of the area for alleged lapses on their part.

In the last two days, the MCD has sealed 20 basements of coaching centres in Rajinder Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar, hubs of coaching centres. These basements were illegally being used as libraries or for providing classes.

As authorities launched action against illegal basements, an air of uncertainty has gripped civil services aspirants in the city, as coaching institutes in Old Rajinder Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar have cancelled classes Sameer, a UPSC aspirant, said they have failed to access the library after the incident.

"It is unclear how long it will take to resolve the situation. We are still waiting for the government or the administration to address our concerns," he said.

"We have been informed that coaching centres will remain shut for at least the next three days. Some centres have shifted to conducting online classes. Libraries, which are essential for students, are closed everywhere. Students typically study in these libraries for more than 15 to 20 hours," Sameer added.

An official said that the encroachments covering storm water drains were demolished in Old Rajinder Nagar, adding that the drive will continue in the next few days.

The MCD commissioner had told PTI earlier that storm drains were covered by encroachers, leading to waterlogging and rainwater entering the basement.

For many, the civic apathy was underscored by a civil service aspirant, Kishore Singh Kushwah, saying he had complained to the MCD about classes and libraries being operated from the basements of Rao's IAS Study Circle and other institutes on June 26.

He said the three IAS aspirants would not have died had the authorities taken note of his complaint. In a video, he was demanding strict action against big UPSC coaching institutes which were allegedly putting the lives of students at stake.

The five accused -- Tejinder Singh, Parvinder Singh, Harvinder Singh and Sarabjeet Singh, the four co-owners of the basement of the coaching centre and SUV driver Manuj Kathuria -- were sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) M Harsha Vardhan said each floor of the building is owned by a different person.

The police investigation has revealed that co-owners had rented out the basement to the coaching centre since 2021.

The co-owners had not set up any drainage system at the basement which was running as a library. In the document's with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), they had shown it as a store room of the coaching centre.

Not too far away from west Delhi, the tragedy found quiet denouement with the body of Nevin Delvin, the 28-year-old Jawaharlal Nehru Student who died, being handed over to his uncle at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

"We will take... his body to Trivandrum, his native place for the funeral. We learnt about the incident on Sunday morning," the grieving uncle said.

The bodies of the other two students - Shreya Yadav and Tanya Soni - were handed over to their families on Sunday.

As the families came to terms with their loss, a political blame game played out too with AAP and BJP leaders trying to shift responsibility.

The BJP staged a protest near the AAP office, demanding the resignation of the Arvind Kejriwal government with state party chief Virendra Sachdeva saying the three died due to corruption of the Aam Aadmi Party that governs Delhi and MCD.

The Aam Aadmi Party on its part protested near the LG Secretariat to demand the sacking of officers who allegedly failed to issue directions for the desilting of drains in Delhi.

In the Lok Sabha, members of several parties spoke out.

BJP leader and New Delhi Lok Sabha MP Bansuri Swaraj blamed the AAP's "utter apathy" for the deaths and demanded that an inquiry committee under the Home Ministry be set up to probe the incident.

"Criminal negligence of the Aam Aadmi Party has led to the death of these students. An inquiry should be set up on the Delhi Government which is neck deep in corruption. Why are the drains not being cleaned in Delhi?" she asked during Zero Hour.

Echoing the demand for an inquiry, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor said there has been a violation in safety codes, and demanded compensation for the families. He said drains have to be cleaned and steps taken to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

There was uproar in the MCD House too, leading to adjournment.

Civic body officials launched an encroachment drive in Old Rajinder Nagar.

On Sunday, the civic body sealed seven illegal coaching centres in Old Rajinder Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar on Monday, hubs of coaching institutes.

Security was beefed up in the area with angry students congregating to register their protest.

Hundreds squatted on the road near the coaching institute, demanding justice and compensation for the families of the deceased.

"This incident will happen again. More students will be killed. If we don't do anything now, we won't get justice for our fellow students," said Rahul Sharma, a resident of Uttar Pradesh who has been here for the last two years preparing for the exam.

Sharma said, "If we don't fight for ourselves, how will we serve the nation in the future? How will we save others' lives when we are not able to save ourselves and a student's life? This is pure negligence by the government." Lt Governor V K Saxena met protesting students and assured them that no one responsible for the incident will be spared.

Police will also question municipal officials about desilting of drains and the clearance certificate issued to Rau's IAS Study Circle.

The police have sought details from the MCD about the cleaning of the drains and the number of inspections they carried out in the area.

Delhi Fire Services also initiated the process of cancelling the NOC of the Rau's IAS Study Circle building.