Union Home Ministry Forms Panel To Probe IAS Coaching Centre Deaths

New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday constituted a committee to inquire into the deaths of 3 UPSC aspirants in Rau's IAS coaching centre flooding in Central Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar area on Saturday. The panel will probe into the reasons and fix the responsibilities of the concerned authorities for the lapses. The committee will also suggest measures and will recommend policy changes, the MHA spokesperson posted on X.

The panel headed by the Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs will have the Principal Secretary (Home Affairs) of the Delhi government, a Special CP rank officer of the Delhi Police and a Fire Advisor as members. A Joint Secretary in the home ministry has been appointed its convener. The committee will submit its report in 30 days, the spokesperson said.

Seven Arrested In IAS Coaching Centre's Deaths

"MHA has constituted a committee to inquire into the unfortunate incident at a coaching centre in old Rajinder Nagar in New Delhi. The committee will inquire into the reasons, fix responsibility, suggest measures and recommend policy changes," the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a post on X.

As many as 3 UPSC aspirants lost their lives on Saturday evening due to flooding in the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle coaching centre in the Old Rajinder Nagar area located in Central Delhi following heavy rain in the national capital. The victims, Shreya Yadav from Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Navin Dalwin from Kerala, were caught in the deluge after heavy rains inundated the basement of the centre.

The incident sparked a massive outrage among fellow students who are sitting in a protest demanding accountability and strict action against those responsible for the mishap. Students have blamed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for negligence.

The incident resonated in Parliament on Monday with members demanding that responsibility be fixed so that such a tragedy does not recur.

Following the outrage and demands for implementing safety procedures in the area, civic body officials launched an anti-encroachment drive in Old Rajinder Nagar. On Sunday, it sealed 13 illegal coaching centres in the area, a hub of coaching institutes.

Meanwhile, seven people, including Tejinder Singh, Parvinder Singh, Harvinder Singh and Sarabjeet Singh, the four co-owners of the coaching centre at Rajinder Nagar, and the driver of a car, Manuj Kathuria, have been arrested in the matter and sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

Kathuria is the driver of a car that drove through the street that was flooded by rainwater, causing the water to swell and breach the gates of the coaching centre.