‘Ruptured biometric system’, ‘clogged drains’: What we know about Delhi coaching centre deaths | Top 10 updates

The tragic deaths of three civil services aspirants in the basement of Rau's IAS Study circle located in Delhi's Old Rajendra Nagar have aroused intense public anger. The students continued to stage protests in the early hours of Monday, calling for justice and decisive government action.

Here are the top 10 updates:

• Delhi Police has beefed up security in the area around the study centre amid protests by IAS aspirants. The agitators demanded justice and compensation for the families of the deceased.
• Bulldozers were seen razing encroachments of the IAS coaching institute in Old Rajinder Nagar on Monday, where three students allegedly drowned in a flooded basement two days ago.

Also read: UPSC Aspirants Death News LIVE Updates: 5 more held, students continue protest; Rajya Sabha to discuss tragic incident

• Following the incident, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) sealed the basements of 13 civil services institutes in the Karol Bagh zone. In addition, the civic authority terminated the services of the Junior Engineer (JE) from the Rajendra Nagar area and suspended the Assistant Engineer (AE).

• Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said, “I have received notices under Rule 267...They have demanded a discussion on the tragic death of UPSC aspirants in Delhi due to negligence of authorities.”
• The deceased are identified as Shreya Yadav from Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Navin Dalwin from Ernakulam in Kerala.

• The Delhi Police formed multiple teams to probe the actual cause of the incident. Over 35 people were trapped in the basement on Saturday evening when water began gushing into the basement following heavy rains, according to a senior official privy to the investigation.
• On Sunday, Delhi police arrested the owner and the coordinator of the coaching centre and charged them with culpable homicide and other charges.

Also read: UPSC aspirants death: MCD seals 13 coaching centres in Delhi. Full list here

• The investigation revealed two main reasons for the incident: the first was failure of civic authorities to clear the roadside drain before the onset of the monsoon, and the other was the lack of a drainage system in the basement to flush out water.
• According to senior police officials, though the basement gate was closed, it got damaged when water gushed in at a high pressure.
• According to officials, the three-storey coaching institute had permission to use the basement for parking and storage, but it was illegally being used as a library.

Locals suggested that the drains in the area were heavily clogged with silt, while MCD officials blamed encroachers for covering drains that drain out stormwater.

(With inputs from agencies)