New Delhi: Students were attending online classes in the basement library Saturday evening. The classes were supposed to finish at around 7 pm, but before anyone could register anything, all hell broke loose as water started pouring into the basement, trapping 30-35 students inside.
The Bada Bazar Road in Old Rajinder Nagar— where the coaching centre, Rau’s IAS Study Circle, is situated — was waterlogged due to heavy rainfall.
The road, placed at a higher level, was clogged with rainwater due to the poor drainage system and uncleared silt, and had not been cleared. During the rainfall, water from this road started pouring into the basement. The only way it could be removed from there was by pumping the water, according to fire service officials.
Once the rescue teams including the Delhi Fire Services, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Delhi Police reached the spot after a PCR call was made, 13-14 UPSC aspirants who were still trapped were rescued. Three other aspirants — Tania Soni (25), Shreya Yadav (25), and Nevin Dalwin (28) — died, having drowned in the stagnant water. It took several hours to pump the water out and find the bodies of the students as the downpour continued.
Also read: Basement of UPSC coaching centre where 3 aspirants drowned was flooded ‘within 10 minutes’
Waterlogging, biometric trapped students
The building had four floors, a parking space and a basement. Initial investigation has revealed major lapses, including the basement being used as a library even though the fire department had only issued a clearance for it to be used for storage.
Moreover, students told the police that the biometric system had turned off due to the waterlogging, creating further havoc when students tried to escape the basement. Once the water started gushing into the basement, the biometric system shut off the exits, trapping the students inside. What happened with the biometric system is being investigated, police sources said.
So far, the Delhi Police have arrested two people in the case — Abhishek Gupta, the owner, and Deshpal Singh, the coordinator of the coaching institute. The FIR has been filed under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 106 (1) (death by negligence), 115 (2) (causing hurt voluntarily), 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings, etc), and 3 (5) (common intention).
The FIR, a copy of which is with ThePrint, says that upon being asked, Gupta, who was present at the spot, couldn’t show any permissions on paper granted to run a library in the basement.
“The water from the road overflowed into the basement endangering the lives of the students inside the basement. On being questioned, Gupta accepted that there is no drainage system in the basement,” the FIR reads.
Sources told ThePrint that officials from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Delhi Jal Board and all other stakeholders were being questioned. “There is no rainwater harvesting. There are clogged drains and silt, which lead to water logging. All aspects are being investigated,” a source said.
Basement ‘permitted’ only for storage
ThePrint has seen a copy of the Fire Safety Certificate issued by the Delhi Fire Service on 9 July this year, which clearly outlined the structure of the four-storey building housing Rau’s IAS Study Circle.
According to the certificate, the basement was supposed to be used for storage. Officials in the Delhi Fire Service have confirmed that the certificate was issued on the absolute condition the basement would be used only for storage.
Fire service officials said that when they carried out an inspection on 1 July, the coaching administration had explained in an undertaking that the basement was being used to store books that would be distributed to new students.
“The basement was only to be used for storage as per the conditions laid down for the certificate. We were told at the time of inspection that books were stored there to distribute to incoming students. This is a clear violation of the laid norms and we have initiated a process to withdraw the NOC, and have written to the Delhi Police and Municipal Corporation of Delhi to seek prosecution and action against the institute,” a top official in the Delhi Fire Service told ThePrint.
The mandated use of the basement as a storage facility is also confirmed by a 2021 completion and occupancy certificate issued by the erstwhile North Delhi Municipal Corporation. The certificate issued by an executive engineer of the North MCD and accessed by ThePrint clearly says the basement can be used only for parking and storage purposes.
However, the use of the basement at Rau’s IAS Study Circle was flagged to the unified MCD by an aspirant on 26 June. ThePrint has seen a copy of the complaint, which also shows that two reminders were sent to the civic body by the complainant — the last of which came just five days before the accident. The complaint also went viral on social media.
One of Aspirant already warned about this on 26 june But authorities ignored it and we can see what happended. pic.twitter.com/IqqoTXfzDO
— UPSC Lifepedia (@UPSCLifepedia) July 28, 2024
‘Tragedy would have been averted’ if norms were followed — MCD
In a statement, the MCD said it was “thoroughly investigating the matter to determine the cause of flooding in the basement.”
It added: “The property has all necessary documents. However, the property owner is found to be in violation of building bylaws in as much as use of [the] basement is concerned. The basement was allowed for parking and storage. Thus, using the basement as library and reading hall was not allowed though stacking/stocking of books could be done. Moreover, the use of the property as per building bye laws and Fire NOC is the responsibility of property owners. Additionally, the so-called bursting of drainage outside the coaching centre is not conclusive and the matter is under investigation.”
The MCD also said that Rau’s was running in disregard of fire clearance conditions. “It did not provide free access. It used storage as the place for coaching/ library. Had it followed the norms of approval, the tragedy would have been averted.”
“This coaching centre and other buildings along the road have unfortunately encroached and covered the storm drains by extending their buildings in the form of platforms and ramps, thereby making draining of water difficult and cleaning of drains impossible. MCD will remove illegal encroachments on the storm water drain in question and other drains to address drainage,” it added.
Also read: ‘Paid fee with loan, wanted her to stand on own feet’ — father of UPSC aspirant who died in flooding