Coaching centre deaths: 5 more held, bulldozer action as anger, anguish mount; MHA forms probe panel
XVisual from the spot
NEW DELHI: Five more people, including four co-owners of the basement of the coaching centre where three civil services aspirants died, were arrested on Monday and bulldozers began demolishing encroachments as anguish over the deaths echoed across the city, from parliament to the streets of Old Rajinder Nagar.
The Ministry of Home Affairs constituted a committee to inquire into the incident and said it will look into the reasons, fix responsibility, suggest measures and recommend policy changes.
While Lok Sabha members across party lines demanded an inquiry, hundreds of students continued their protests near Rau's IAS Study Circle in the west Delhi locality where the horror unfolded Saturday night, killing the three students trapped in the basement illegally used as a library as floodwaters rose outside.
The driver of an SUV which drove through the flooded street, causing the water to swell and breach the gates of the three-storey building and inundate the basement, was among the five arrested. The SUV was also seized.
All five were sent to judicial custody for 14 days by a court.
With this, the number of arrests has gone up to seven. The owner and the coordinator of the coaching institute have already been nabbed and booked for culpable homicide.
Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena announced Rs 10 lakh compensation for the kin of the three civil services aspirants, and assured action within 24 hours against officials of the Delhi Fire Services, police and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) found guilty for the incident.
The MCD, battling charges of negligence and not desilting storm water drains, terminated a junior engineer and suspended an assistant engineer of the area for alleged lapses on their part.
In the last two days, the MCD has sealed 20 basements of coaching centres in Rajinder Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar, hubs of coaching centres. These basements were illegally being used as libraries or for providing classes.
As authorities launched action against illegal basements, an air of uncertainty has gripped civil services aspirants in the city, as coaching institutes in Old Rajinder Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar have cancelled classes
Sameer, a UPSC aspirant, said they have failed to access the library after the incident.
"It is unclear how long it will take to resolve the situation. We are still waiting for the government or the administration to address our concerns," he said.
"We have been informed that coaching centres will remain shut for at least the next three days. Some centres have shifted to conducting online classes. Libraries, which are essential for students, are closed everywhere. Students typically study in these libraries for more than 15 to 20 hours," Sameer added.
An official said that the encroachments covering storm water drains were demolished in Old Rajinder Nagar, adding that the drive will continue in the next few days.
The MCD commissioner had told.