‘Be HEARD! We are with you’, SriRam IAS coaching centre’s clarification over ‘apathetic’ post on protest

In Delhi, SriRam IAS coaching centre, located in Old Rajendra Nagar, faced backlash over its social media post amid students' protest against the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) after three civil services aspirants lost their lives in the flooded basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle on Saturday night.

“We express our solidarity with the ORN Aspirants. It's time for soul searching on the part of everyone. Remember, you should not be a part of the HERD so that you are HEARD,” the since-deleted post read.

The protesters criticised SriRam's statement and called it “apathetic and mocking”. Hence, hours later, the educational institute issued a clarification statement, saying “their previous message was misunderstood”.

“We intended to express that you are on a historic path. To drive meaningful change in society, it's crucial to step away from the conventional and carve out your own unique path. Stand out and be HEARD. We are with you,” the clarification statement read. 

‘Disgusting, shameless, evil’

Since its posting, netizens have bombarded the comment section with criticism of SriRam IAS's letter. One user wrote, “If you are so disgusting and evil, I am shocked how your products will be. Immoral, uncouth and shameless.”

“What ??? U clearly wrote DONT BE PART OF HERD about students protesting. Btw how many illegal libraries u are running ? How you are with us ? You coaching centres have 100 of crores of net worth .. cant u just compensate 1 crore to each deceased ??” another user commented.

“The depths of shamelessness of the IAS coaching industry: [DELETED TWEET],” the third person reacted.

“Dete rahiye clarification clarification alhua clarification…aapka aaya hai…sab ka sach saamne aayega…aspirants ko bhed bakriyon se zyada kuchh nahi samajhte aap log,” the fourth user said.

MCD seals coaching centres running in basements

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has sealed the basements of 13 civil services coaching institutes. Despite Rau's IAS Study Circle's property owner possessing the necessary documents, using the basement for anything other than parking and storage, such as a library or reading hall, violated building bylaws.

Additionally, the coaching centre operated without meeting fire clearance requirements. The building's owner and the coaching institute's coordinator have been taken into police custody. Authorities are examining CCTV footage to determine how the basement flooded rapidly.