The owner and coordinator of a coaching center in Old Rajinder Nagar, Delhi, were arrested and charged with culpable homicide and other offenses after three students drowned in the basement due to heavy rainfall.
Disaster rescue teams recovered the bodies of two female students and one male student from the flooded basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle after a seven-hour operation. The victims were identified as Shreya Yadav from Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh , Tanya Soni from Telangana and Navin Dalwin from Ernakulam, Kerala.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) concluded its search of the site. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) M. Harsha Vardhan reported that the operation lasted approximately seven hours. Authorities are reviewing CCTV footage to piece together the sequence of events.
According to the Delhi Fire Department (DFS), they received a report about waterlogging at the coaching center around 7 pm on Saturday (July 27) and were informed that people might be trapped inside. The basement flooded rapidly, trapping individuals as five fire tenders were dispatched to the scene. The basement was filled with water upon their arrival, and the furniture that had floated created obstacles for the rescue efforts. Ropes were used to evacuate the trapped students.
Earlier this week, a 26-year-old civil services aspirant was electrocuted after touching an iron gate following heavy rains in Patel Nagar, central Delhi.
Whereas students protesting outside a coaching center raised slogans of ‘Swati Go Back’. Students also expressed frustration with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), accusing it of negligence in addressing frequent waterlogging issues. One student remarked, “Eighty percent of libraries here are in basements, which flood within minutes of rainfall. The MCD has failed to take action.”
Another student labeled the situation as complete negligence by the MCD, pointing out that knee-deep water accumulates within half an hour of rain. “The MCD calls it a disaster, but this is a case of gross negligence. My landlord has been requesting the councilor to clean the drains for the past 10-12 days. Immediate action should be taken against those responsible,” the student added.
A UPSC aspirant demanded accountability, saying, “Action should be taken against those responsible for this negligence. The libraries operating illegally in basements lack safety measures and need to be shut down. The MCD must address this issue, as waterlogging is a recurring problem. Last time it rained, cars were floating in the water. In a year, no senior official has visited this site.”
Another UPSC aspirant, Aman Shukla, echoed similar sentiments, stating, “Our demand is to shut down all illegal basement libraries and hold the MCD accountable. They have not taken any action despite previous incidents of severe waterlogging.”