“Is Anyone Left Behind?”: New Video Reveals Chaos Before Delhi’s IAS Coaching Centre Flooding

The recent incident of flooding in the basement of a coaching center in Delhi’s Rajendra Nagar, which claimed the lives of three IAS aspirants, has exposed several shortcomings in the work of both the state government and the administration. The three young aspirants, who were studying hard to improve the country, lost their lives when water flooded the basement of the coaching center where they were taking classes. While nearly 40 students managed to escape the horrifying situation, Shreya, Tanya, and Navin couldn’t make it through.

The visuals were spine-chilling, and a new video shot hours before the bodies of the three IAS aspirants were recovered shows other students rushing out of the basement as water poured into Rau's IAS Study Circle’s basement.

Students were seen coming out of the basement of the coaching center, with one man shouting in Hindi, “Kids, come up quickly. Quick, quick... Is anyone left behind? Is anyone down there?” as he urged the students to hurry.

Check out the video:

How the Incident Unfolded:

Authorities received a call regarding waterlogging from Rau's IAS Study Centre at around 7 pm on Saturday. While the police are investigating the cause of the flooding, locals attribute it to the inadequate drainage system in the area, which was heavily clogged with silt and overflowed following heavy rains, leading to a flood-like situation.

A video circulating online shows the road in front of the coaching institute severely waterlogged, with water levels reaching waist-deep.

Police Takes Action:

The Delhi Police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) and formed multiple teams to probe the incident. Early investigations have indicated several lapses by the institute's owner and civic authorities.

Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg mentioned that there was no option to de-water the basement.

The three-storey coaching center, which prepares students for civil services, had its building plan approved by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in 2021. However, the plan falsely depicted the basement as a storeroom, according to the building plan and the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the fire department.

"The building has fire NOC, but in the NOC they had shown the basement as a store room. The management of the institute was using the same room as a classroom or library which is a violation of the NOC," Mr. Garg stated.

In response, several students have staged protests demanding justice for the civil service aspirants who lost their lives, and they are calling for action against those responsible as well as compensation for the families of the deceased.

The institute expressed their condolences, saying, "We are deeply saddened by the loss of these promising young individuals who were preparing to serve our nation with dedication and commitment."