A tragic incident occurred on Saturday evening when heavy rainfall led to the flooding of a coaching center’s basement, resulting in the deaths of three civil services aspirants. The victims were at Rau’s IAS Study Circle on Bada Bazar Marg when the disaster struck, according to police reports.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Central, Harsha Vardhan, confirmed that the deceased included two women and one man. The students were identified as Taniya Soni, Shreya Yadav, and Naveen Dalvin, all aged between 25 and 30.
The incident unfolded when the basement of the coaching center began to flood due to the heavy downpour. Approximately 30 students were present at the center when the flooding started. While 13 to 14 students were rescued and transported to the hospital, others managed to escape the premises.
Delhi Police, along with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Delhi Fire Services (DFS), launched a rescue operation. DCP Vardhan stated that the bodies of the three students were recovered in the early hours of Sunday. The remains have been sent to a city mortuary for postmortem.
Atul Garg, Chief of Delhi Fire Services, reported that the fire control room received a distress call at 7 PM. He explained that five fire tenders were dispatched to the scene, where rescuers encountered severe waterlogging in the basement and the surrounding road.
“The owner of the institute informed us that three to four students were missing,” Garg said. “The flooding in the basement and the road outside made it difficult to clear the water. Teams from the NDRF and other agencies joined the rescue operation.”
By 10:30 PM, rescue teams had pulled out two bodies, and the third body was recovered around 1:30 AM.
This incident has highlighted concerns about infrastructure and safety measures in educational institutions, especially during the monsoon season. The tragedy follows closely on the heels of another recent incident in Delhi where a UPSC aspirant was electrocuted on a waterlogged street.
Local authorities and the coaching center’s management are under scrutiny as investigations continue into the cause of the flooding and the adequacy of emergency preparedness and response measures. The city mourns the loss of these young lives, and the community calls for swift action to prevent such tragedies in the future.
