NEW DELHI : Three UPSC aspirants died after they were trapped in the basement of a popular coaching centre in Delhi late last evening, triggering massive protests. The bodies of Tania and Shreya were pulled out hours after the rescue operation began. Navin’s body was recovered later into the night. The police identified the victims of Delhi’s Old Rajender Nagar coaching centre Rao IAS Study Centre incident as Shreya Yadav, a native of Ambedkar Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana; and Nivin Dalwin, a resident of Kerala’s Ernakulam.
Three students allegedly died and several were trapped, after a nearby drain burst which led to flooding in the basement of a UPSC coaching institute in Old Rajinder Nagar on July 27, a Delhi Fire Service (DFS) official said. Videos of the area showed Rau’s IAS Study Circle in old Rajinder Nagar completely flooded, with rescuers struggling to pump out the water.
Hundreds of students and locals in the area gathered outside Rau’s IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar this morning demanding action against the coaching centre and authorities for negligence that claimed the lives of three students. Officials said a drain had exploded, leading to the flooding in the basement. UPSC Aspirants Death News LIVE: Students continue holding massive protests in Delhi’s Old Rajender Nagar area over the deaths of the three UPSC aspirants in a flooded basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle.
Shreya Yadav – the eldest among three siblings – had come to the national capital to prepare for civil services in April. His father runs a dairy shop in Uttar Pradesh and his two younger brothers are in school. His uncle Dharmendra Yadav resides in Ghaziabad. He was the first person in the family who found out about the tragedy that occurred late last evening at the Rau’s IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar.
“I found out about the incident after I watched the news on television. I tried calling Shreya but couldn’t speak to her,” Mr Yadav said. “I received no information officially, either from the coaching institute or administration. I saw the news and approached them, I went to the mortuary and asked them to show me the face for identification but they denied it, saying it was a police case. They showed me a paper where her (Shreya Yadav) name was written,” he said.
Fire brigade officials said they received a call about students being stuck in the basement at 7.19 pm last evening and five fire engines were dispatched to assist in rescue operations. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) also assisted in the rescue operation,. According to a DFS official, they received a call about students trapped inside the basement around 7 p.m.  “The caller said that children were trapped inside a completely flooded basement of a UPSC coaching institute in Old Rajinder Nagar, following which 5 fire tenders were immediately sent,” the official said.

Meanwhile, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Mayor Shelly Oberoi on July 28 ordered to take “immediate” action against all coaching centers running commercial activities in basements against rules. The order came after three civil services aspirants died due to rain-induced flooding in the basement of a coaching center.
“All such coaching centers across Delhi which are under the jurisdiction of MCD and running commercial activities in basements which are in violation of building bye-laws and are not as per norms, strict action should be taken against them immediately,” Ms. Oberoi said in a letter to the MCD Commissioner.” This incident needs thorough investigation and swift and strongest possible action,” Ms. Oberoi said. “It is also our responsibility to ensure that such an incident does not recur in any part of Delhi,” the mayor added.
Earlier this week, a 26-year-old civil services aspirant was electrocuted after he touched an iron gate following heavy rain in central Delhi’s Patel Nagar area.

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