Three Civil Service Aspirants – Tania Soni, 25, Shreya Yadav, 25, and Navin Delvin, 28 – Die in Delhi Basement Flood Caused by Heavy Rain.
New Delhi: The coaching center in Delhi’s Rajinder Nagar, which made headlines after three students died due to waterlogging in the basement, had been using the basement as a library despite civic authorities designating it for storage or parking only.
The Rau’s IAS Study Circle center in Rajinder Nagar obtained a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in August 2021. The certificate, accessed by a media house, specified that the basement was for parking use and household storage.
Earlier this month, the coaching center received an NOC from the fire department, also accessed by a media house, indicating compliance with fire safety requirements. This document stated that the basement should be used strictly according to building bye-laws.
According to building bye-laws, measures must be taken to prevent surface drainage from entering the basement. If the basement is used for office and commercial purposes, there must be adequate exit and access ways. The Rajinder Nagar coaching center, however, had only one entry/exit.
Three civil service aspirants—Tania Soni and Shreya Yadav, both 25, and Navin Delvin, 28—died after heavy rain in Delhi yesterday led to the basement flooding. Several students were in the coaching institute’s library when the incident occurred.
Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi has ordered a probe to determine if any MCD officer was negligent, leading to the tragedy. She also stated that all coaching centers violating the law would face action.
Police have registered a case under multiple sections, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder and death due to negligence. The owner and coordinator of the coaching center have been arrested.
The incident has sparked protests from students, who blame civic negligence. A political blame game has also erupted, with the BJP targeting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which governs Delhi and controls the MCD. The BJP claims local residents had approached local MLA and AAP leader Durgesh Pathak to fix the area’s drainage, but no action was taken. Pathak countered, urging the BJP not to politicize the issue and questioning why the BJP’s councillor did not address the problem during his term.
