New Delhi: Friends and families of the three deceased students were angry as they were not allowed to see the bodies of the victims at the RML Hospital.
Shreya Yadav of Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Navin Dalwin from Ernakulam in Kerala died after the basement of the building housing the coaching center Rau’s IAS Study Circle was flooded following heavy rain in central Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar area on Saturday evening, officials said.
At the RML mortuary, it was an agonizing wait for the family members of the three deceased students.
The friends of the victims also reached the hospital and expressed anger at the events that had unfolded on Saturday, July 27.
Victim’s family learns about incident through news
Dharmender Yadav, uncle of Shreya Yadav, said he learned about the incident through news channels and said, “I tried to call her, but her phone was switched off. Even the coaching center’s number was not reachable. I left from Ghaziabad and reached the place where she stayed, but her room was locked”
He further added, “I went to the coaching center where I met the DCP, and he asked me to go to RML Hospital. At the hospital, I was not allowed to see her body. However, they confirmed receiving her body,”
Shreya Yadav had completed her BSc in agriculture and had joined the coaching centre in May. Her parents, relatives, and friends have been here in the hospital since 10 am. Her parents and friends left with her body at 1:43 pm.
FIR registered
In response to the tragedy, the Delhi Police registered an FIR on Sunday, July 28, and formed multiple teams for further investigation. The police have arrested the owner and the coordinator of Rau’s IAS Study Circle and booked them for culpable homicide and other charges.
“We have asked the Delhi Fire Services to provide us with a report about the building and the basement, which was being used as a library but mentioned as a store room,” a senior police officer said.
The officer further said the basement was eight feet below ground level, and more than 18 students were present in it on Saturday evening when it got flooded after heavy rains. According to sources in the police department, the gate of the basement was closed, but due to the high pressure of rainwater, it got damaged and water gushed in.
“We are checking CCTV footage from the area to ascertain the sequence of the events. After scanning the CCTV footage, we will identify the people who were standing close to the institute during the time of the incident and record their statements,” said the officer.
Deputy Commissioner of Police M Harsha Vardhan said, “We have registered an FIR at Rajinder Nagar Police Station under sections 105 (culpable homicide), 106(1) (death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide), 115(2) (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing, or constructing buildings), and 35 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and launched an investigation.”
Two arrested; owner admits to lack of drainage system
So far, two people, including coaching center owner Abhishek Gupta and coordinator Deshpal Singh, have been arrested, he said.
The FIR, registered on the statement of Sub-Inspector Dharmender Kumar Sharma, stated that the owner of the coaching center, who was present there at the time of the incident, failed to produce the documents required to run a library in the basement.
The owner also accepted that there was no drainage system in the basement, it said.
“After receiving a PCR call about flooding in the basement, Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Birender was rushed to the spot,” the FIR stated.
The ASI saw the area waterlogged, with the parking area under three feet of water. He immediately informed the SHO of Rajinder Nagar police station and brought the matter to the attention of the fire department and the National Disaster Response Force, it stated.
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