‘Coaching Centres Have Become Mafia’: Storm In Parliament Over Delhi UPSC Aspirants’ Deaths

The Parliament on Monday witnessed a storm after MPs raised the matter of deaths of three Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) aspirant students due to drowning in the flooded basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle in New Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar, saying that the matter is of utmost concern. The MPs across the party lines raised the matter related to safety and security of the students who study in the coaching institutes and prepare for the competitive exams.

Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar criticised the commercialisation of coaching centers, highlighting their frequent advertisements in newspapers.

“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…I find that youth demographic dividend of the country has to be nurtured, I further find that coaching has become virtually commerce. Every time we read a newspaper, the front one or two pages are of their advertisements…” he said.

He also agreed for a short duration discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the tragic incident and vowed to meet the all parties’ leaders to discuss the issue.

Congress MP KC Venugopal also raised the matter in Lok Sabha during the proceedings and said that the coaching centers are now becoming the mafia. He also urged the government to stringent action against the accused.

“Student suicide is one of the most important issues in the country. In the other House, there was an answer given by the Minister in 2023. In 5 years, between 2018-22, 80 students committed suicide only in higher education, like IITs and IIMs. The day before yesterday, in a coaching center in Delhi, three students lost their lives. This coaching center had no approved building at all. Some of the coaching centers have become mafia. When is the govt going to take any action against them?,” he said.

New Delhi Lok Sabha MP and BJP leader Bansuri Swaraj lambasted Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government for the incident, saying that It is AAP’s apathy that has caused death of three UPSC aspirants in the national capital.

BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal also slammed the AAP and said, “It’s not about blaming. MCD is under AAP, and that party has been also ruling Delhi for the last 9 years. Incidents like this happen every year but AAP has found no concrete solution to tackle this issue. Those officers who are responsible for it must be severely punished to avoid repetition of such incidents in future… Mere sealing a few coaching institutes won’t help have a long-term solution…”

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also urged for the compensation for the victims’ kin and said matter calls for compensation but no compensation can be enough for this loss. He also said the basic norms were violated by the coaching institute but the MCD took no action. He also visited the RML Hospital in Delhi to meet the family of Nevin Dalvin, one of the students who drowned at the institute.

“This is shameful, there is no doubt about it…The dreams of those youth have been shattered, the hopes of their families have been snuffed too. This is extremely saddening for the country, for its future and the future of the youth. What solution can you bring forth when a life is lost?…Yes, compensation should be provided. What is most important is to ensure that this doesn’t happen again so that nobody has to suffer through the same loss again…” he said.

Independent MP Pappu Yadav also raised the matter saying that one of the deceased, Tanya, who was a native of Bihar lost her life due to waterlogging in the basement of the coaching institute. He said that the government should take steps for the safety and security of the students who come from across the country to prepare for the competitive exams.

What happened at Rau’s academy?

Three students drowned to their death in the basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle coaching centre after it was flooded due to heavy rain on Saturday.

The basement was eight feet below the ground level and several students were present in it when the incident took place on Saturday evening.

Disaster rescue teams retrieved the bodies of two females and one male from the site after seven hours. Police identified the victims as Shreya Yadav (25) of Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni (25) from Telangana and Navin Dalwin (28) from Ernakulam in Kerala.

The owner and coordinator of the coaching centre were arrested and booked under charges of culpable homicide among others. Police identified the owner as Abhishek Gupta and the other accused as Deshpal Singh. Both the accused were sent to 14 days of judicial custody.

Meanwhile, a junior engineer has been terminated and an assistant engineer suspended in connection with the case. After the tragic incident came into limelight, the MCD started action against illegal coaching centres and vowed to set up a high-level committee to probe the flooding of the basement of the coaching institute which led to three civil services aspirants’ deaths.

The MCD has sent earth movers to Old Rajender Nagar area for action against alleged encroachment. Officials from the local administration and the police were also present.

With inputs from agencies