Families, friends of Delhi coaching centre victims demand strict action against guilty persons

The families and friends of the three students who died in the basement of the flooded coaching centre here on Saturday have demanded action against those guilty of snatching away their loved ones.

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 centre Rau’s IAS Study Circle was flooded following heavy rain in central Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar area on Saturday evening, officials said.

In a statement issued later in the day, Rau’s IAS Study Circle condoled the loss of young lives and said they were fully committed to supporting the ongoing investigation.

The friends of the victims also reached the hospital and expressed anger at the events that had unfolded on Saturday.

Pradeep, a relative of Tanya, said, “Someone has to take the responsibility of this mishap and death of three students — either the coaching institute, MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) or the government. Action should be taken against all the institutes which are running classes in the basement.”

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He said they have learnt that the basement was supposed to be used as a storage facility but was being used run a library, which had put the lives of so many students in jeopardy.

Tanya’s body was taken to her native place Aurangabad in Bihar, he said.

Dalwin was pursuing his PhD from JNU. Former JNUSU students’ union president Aishe Ghosh came to the hospital.

“His (Dalwin’s) PhD guide is here. Whatever has happened is very tragic. Young lives were lost.

“One person who has lost his life was from JNU. Students come here from different places with dreams. It’s unfortunate that three students have lost their lives,” she said.

Ghosh demanded action against those responsible for the tragedy. She said the authorities should release a formal statement on the reasons behind the incident.

JNUSU president Dhananjay echoed similar views and demanded action against the guilty.

“This must not be viewed as a stand-alone incident. The free reins granted to private coaching mafia embolden the institutions to forgo safety regulations in favour of large profits.

“Despite charging lakhs from students on a yearly basis, basic facilities are found lacking in the private institutions. The government has made no attempts to bring this open loot under control despite repeated and regular instances of loss of lives,” he added.

Dalwin’s family is expected to reach Delhi on Sunday evening and his post-mortem will be conducted on Monday.

Dharmender Yadav, uncle of Shreya Yadav, said he learnt about the incident through news channels.

“I tried to call her but her phone was switched off. Even the coaching centre’s number was not reachable. I left from Ghaziabad and reached the place where she stayed but her room was locked.

“I went to the coaching centre 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,” he said.

Also read: Delhi: Mayor calls for action against basement coaching centers

Shreya Yadav had completed her BSc in agriculture and had joined the coaching centre in May. Her parents, relatives and friends were here in the hospital since 10 am. They left with her body at 1.43 pm.