New Delhi: Three civil service aspirants died after being trapped in the flooded basement of a coaching centre in Delhi’s Old Rajendra Nagar.
According to sources, they were trapped in the basement of a building where the coaching centre was running a library when it was suddenly flooded due to heavy rains.
The incident took place late on Saturday at Rau’s IAS Study Circle at Bada Bazar Marg. Delhi Fire Services (DFS) chief Atul Garg said the fire control room received a call at 7pm regarding the incident. Deputy Commissioner of Police (central) Harsha Vardhan said the three students included two women and a man. The bodies of the three students were recovered in the wee hours on Sunday, the DCP said.
Police said that there were around 30 students inside the coaching centre when it started flooding. While 13 to 14 of them were rescued and taken to the hospital, others escaped the site.
DCP Vardhan said that the basement got flooded due to waterlogging caused by the heavy rainfall. The basement was dark, which hampered the rescue operation. “…We are investigating how the basement got flooded… it appears that flooding happened very fast,” he said.
Meanwhile, Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi has ordered action against coaching centres being run in the basements in the city. In an official order, Oberoi directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Commissioner to initiate action against such coaching centres.
The orders by Oberoi came hours after three civil services aspirants died in basement flooding incident.
Also, Delhi minister Atishi ordered an immediate investigation into the matter and ordered the Chief Secretary to carry out a magisterial inquiry and submit a report within 24 hours. “…I am taking updates on the incident every minute. A magistrate inquiry has been ordered to investigate the matter. Whoever is responsible for this incident will not be spared,” she said.
