The matter of death of three students due to water logging in the basement of RAU IAS Coaching Center located in Old Rajendra Nagar, Delhi is a hot topic. After the heavy rain on Saturday, the basement was filled with 10-12 feet of water within a few minutes.
Shreya Yadav of Ambedkar Nagar, UP, Tanya Soni of Telangana and Naveen Dalvin, resident of Ernakulam, Kerala lost their lives in this accident. All three were preparing for civil services.
The police have registered a case on this accident and arrested the owner and coordinator of the coaching center. The court has sent both of them to judicial custody for 14 days. Police are investigating how the basement filled with water so quickly. At the same time, this accident is also expected to be discussed in Parliament on Monday.
But after this accident many questions are also being raised. For example, how did the coaching center build a library in the basement, whereas NOC was taken for the store room? There was no arrangement for drainage system in the basement. At the same time, the police is also investigating on two theories.
First question: How was a library created by pretending to be a store room?
MCD officials said that the building plan of the coaching center was approved in 2021. It was clearly written in the completion certificate of the building that the basement would be used as parking space or store room. This means that the library running in the basement was illegal.
Not only this, the coaching center was given fire NOC this month. In this, the coaching center got approval for a three-storey building, parking space under the building and a basement. It was also mentioned that the basement would be used as a store room. The police asked coaching center owner Abhishek Gupta for permission documents for the library in the basement, which he did not have.
Second question: Why was there no drainage system in the basement?
In this case, the police has arrested the owner of the coaching center, Abhishek Gupta. During interrogation, Abhishek Gupta admitted that there was no drainage system in the basement of the coaching centre.
According to the FIR lodged by the police in this case, there was no arrangement for drainage system even on the road outside the coaching centre. Investigation revealed that the basement of the coaching center was 8 feet below the ground floor.
Students have alleged that coaching institutes spend lakhs of rupees for giving front page advertisements in newspapers but ignore the basic needs.
Third question: How did water enter the basement?
Three types of things have come to light regarding this. MCD says that people have encroached on the drains on the roadside and have covered the drains. Due to this the area was flooded and water entered the basement.
According to sources, the gate of the coaching center was closed after heavy rain. A steel shed was installed at the entry gate to stop water. A theory from the police and fire service department says that as the water accumulated on the road, the pressure of the water was so much that it broke the steel shed and water would have filled the basement.
Police are also investigating whether the gate was opened to take out a car, due to which the basement was flooded.
Fourth and big question: How did the accident happen?
No official statement has come on this yet. Initial investigation has revealed that there was heavy rain on Saturday, due to which the road was flooded. Due to lack of drainage system, this water filled the basement of the coaching centre.
Many videos of this incident are going viral on social media, in which many students are seen trying to save themselves from drowning. In a video, the main entry gate of the coaching center is seen collapsing due to heavy rains, due to which the basement was flooded.
It is being told that there was only one way to enter and exit the basement. Some students have alleged that the biometric system of entry-exit had broken down, due to which the students were stuck here.
What has happened so far in the case?
An FIR has been registered in this case at Rajendra Nagar police station. Police have registered a case under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 290 (negligence while constructing buildings) of the Indian Justice Code.
In this case, the police have arrested the owner of the coaching center Abhishek Gupta and coordinator Deshpal Singh. The court has sent both of them to judicial custody for 14 days.
At the same time, after the accident, Delhi Municipal Corporation (MCD) has also come into action mode. MCD has sealed 13 coaching institutes running illegally in basements.