Delhi Coaching Centre Flouted Key Norms: What Are The Two Theories Police Is Probing

Rau's IAS Study Circle in Delhi violated building codes by using its basement as a library, which lacked proper drainage and emergency exits.

Rau's IAS Study Circle centre in Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar, where three students drowned in the water-logged basement, was reportedly flouting some key building bylaws. The coaching was using the building basement, meant for parking and storage, as a library. 

Three UPSC aspirants -- Tania Soni (25), Shreya Yadav (25), and Nevin Dalwin (28) -- died after the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle got flooded following heavy rain in the national capital. Several students were also present in the coaching institute's library when the incident took place.

Key Norms Flouted

The building bylaws state that if the basement is being used for commercial purposes, there should be multiple entry and exit ways. But, in the case of the Rajinder Nagar coaching, there was only one access way, according to a report by NDTV. 

As per the report, the coaching centre for civil service aspirants got a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi in August 2021, which underlined that the basement is for parking use and household storage. It also got an NOC from the fire department earlier this month, which said the basement should be used strictly as per building bylaws.

The building bylaws state that adequate arrangements shall be made to ensure surface drainage so that water does not enter the basement, which the area used as the library, situated eight feet below the ground, lacked. Only a steel shed was installed at the entrance of the coaching centre to prevent water from entering the area.

FIR Lodged, Probe Begins

Police have registered a case under multiple sections, including charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and death due to negligence and the owner and coordinator of the coaching centre have been arrested. The police and fire department are reportedly probing two theories about how the basement was flooded. 

As per a report by India Today, the first theory suggests that as soon as the rainwater filled the road, the water pressure was so high that it broke the steel sheds, installed at the entrance of the coaching centre, and filled the basement, due to which the students got trapped.

The police are also investigating whether the gate was opened to let a car out, which led the water to enter the basement, the India Today report said.