Delhi Coaching Centre Deaths: Heavy police presence was deployed at Karol Bagh Metro Station in Delhi as students gathered to protest the deaths of three civil services aspirants after the basement of a coaching institute in Old Rajinder Nagar was flooded. The protest led to several detentions by the police. Students were heard raising chants of "We want justice". The tragic incident, which occurred following heavy rainfall on Saturday evening, claimed the lives of Shreya Yadav from Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Navin Dalwin from Ernakulam in Kerala.
These students were attending Rao's IAS Study Circle, and the flooding took place in the basement, which housed a library.
Delhi Police detained the protesting students who had blocked the main road, news agency ANI reported.
"I have repeatedly appealed to them not to block the main road. The other road was blocked by them since yesterday. We understand their sentiments. There are hospitals here. We are using a mild force to displace them. They have shared their demand; it is not related to the police, it is about other agencies. We have not closed the metro station. It is peaceful now," Deputy Commissioner of Police Harshvardhan told news agency PTI regarding the unrest at Karol Bagh metro station.
In another protest incident, ABVP members defaced a poster of Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi during a demonstration outside her residence.
Delhi Coaching Centre Deaths: Students Point To Safety Violations
The deaths have sparked outrage among students, who are demanding accountability from the Delhi government. Many voiced their concerns over safety violations at coaching centres across the city. A student from Rau's IAS Study Circle, who preferred to remain anonymous, blamed the institute and highlighted previous incidents of negligence by the Delhi authorities, PTI reported.
Dharmendra Yadav, the uncle of Shreya Yadav, recounted his distress upon hearing the news. "I saw the news about the incident late at night and called Shreya over phone, but she didn't answer," he said. He rushed to the institute and was directed to RML Hospital, where he was informed of his niece's death but was not allowed to see her, PTI's report stated.
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Authorities confirmed receiving a call about the waterlogging from the Rao IAS Study Centre at around 7 pm. A Delhi Fire Services (DFS) officer mentioned, "We received a call at 7 pm regarding a basement of a coaching institute being flooded. The caller told us there is a possibility that some people were trapped." Preliminary investigations revealed that several students were present in the basement when it began to flood.
In response to the incident, police arrested the owner and the coordinator of the coaching centre on Sunday.