Delhi Police have arrested five individuals, including the basement owner, in connection with the deaths of three UPSC aspirants due to flooding in a coaching institute’s basement in Old Rajinder Nagar. Among the arrested are basement owner Abhishek Gupta and another accused, Deshpal Singh, who have been charged with culpable homicide and other offenses. Both have been placed in 14-day judicial custody. The arrests also include the driver of a vehicle believed to have damaged the building’s gate. The FIR has been registered under sections 105, 106(1), 115(2), 290, and 3(5) of the BNS.
In response to the tragedy, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has sealed 13 illegally operating coaching centers in Old Rajinder Nagar, including Rau’s IAS Study Circle, where the incident occurred. The basement of Rau’s IAS was being used as a library, violating its Delhi Fire Services (DFS) no-objection certificate, which stipulated its use for storage only. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) recovered the bodies of two women and one man from the basement after seven hours of rescue efforts. The victims were identified as Tanya Soni from Telangana, Navin Dalwin from Kerala’s Ernakulam, and Shreya Yadav from Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkar Nagar.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena expressed his grief over the incident, calling it a result of criminal neglect and poor maintenance by relevant agencies. He has requested a comprehensive report from the Divisional Commissioner by Tuesday, aiming to ensure accountability for the tragic loss of young lives due to administrative apathy and the misconduct of those running the coaching institutions. The coaching facility involved expressed deep sorrow over the deaths and pledged full cooperation with the ongoing inquiries.
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