Delhi: Illegal basement use by Rau's IAS Study Circle led to flooding that claimed 3 lives

The Rau's IAS Study Circle center in Rajinder Nagar received a No-Objection Certificate from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi in August 2021. This certificate specifies that the basement is intended for parking and household storage, reported NDTV.

The coaching center obtained an NOC from the fire department earlier this month, which was also accessed by NDTV.

This document indicates that the building meets fire safety requirements and states that the basement should be used strictly according to building bye-laws.

The building bye-laws stipulate that measures must be in place to prevent surface water from entering the basement. They also require sufficient exit and access points if the basement is used for office or commercial purposes. In the case of the Rajinder Nagar coaching center, however, there was only one entry/exit, the report said.

The incident, which resulted in the deaths of three civil service aspirants—Tania Soni and Shreya Yadav, both 25, and Navin Delvin, 28—occurred after heavy rainfall in Delhi flooded the basement.

Several students were in the library at the time.

Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi has ordered an investigation to determine if any Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) officials were negligent, leading to the tragedy.

She also announced that coaching centers violating the law would face consequences.

Abhishek Gupta, the owner, and Deshpal Singh, the coordinator, have been booked under charges of culpable homicide and death due to negligence, according to an India Today report.

"We have registered an FIR at Rajinder Nagar Police Station under sections 105 (culpable homicide), 106(1) (death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide), 115(2) (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings) and 35 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and launched an investigation. So far we have detained two people -- owner and coordinator of the coaching centre," Deputy Commissioner of Police M Harsha Vardhan was quoted as saying by India Today.

"Search and rescue operation ended. Total three bodies were recovered from the basement. All were identified and we have informed the family members about the incident," the DCP said.

The incident has led to student protests blaming civic negligence.

A political blame-game has also emerged, with the BJP criticising the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which governs Delhi and the MCD.

The BJP claimed local residents had asked AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak to fix the area's drainage, but nothing was done. 

“This incident was avoidable. It was brought to notice of AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak again and again but he did nothing. Durgesh Pathak and Kejriwal government’s negligence are blamed for the death of those three students,” said BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj at a press conference.

However, Pathak told the BJP not to politicise the issue and questioned why the work was not done during the BJP councillor's term in past 15 years.