A day after three students died in a coaching centre basement due to flooding, visuals have emerged showing students rushing out amid heavy flooding at Rau’s IAS Study Circle in West Delhi’s Rajinder Nagar, where they were studying for civil services exams in violation of safety regulations.

The basement, used as a library, was submerged in water, trapping several students, resulting in the tragic deaths of three.

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A video taken hours before the recovery of the bodies shows students rushing out of the flooded basement, capturing the chaos and panic as they desperately sought to escape the rising waters.

Three students, Tania Soni (25), Shreya Yadav (25), and Navin Delvin (28), were left behind and their bodies were recovered after a seven-hour-long rescue operation. The incident came to light when authorities received a call about waterlogging at Rau’s IAS Study Centre around 7 pm, which was caused by a clogged drainage system in the area that was heavily silted and overflowed due to heavy rainfall, according to locals.

Another video showed the road in front of the coaching institute severely waterlogged with waist-deep water.

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Preliminary investigations have revealed multiple lapses on the part of the institute’s owner and civic authorities, who are being scrutinized for their role in the incident. Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg claimed that there was no option to remove the water from 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, it falsely indicated that the basement would be used as a storage room, as detailed in the building plan and the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the fire department.

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“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,” Garg said.

In response, several students are protesting, demanding justice for the civil service aspirants who lost their lives. They are calling for action against those responsible for the deaths and for compensation for the victims’ families. The institute expressed its deep sorrow over the tragic loss of these promising young individuals who were dedicated to serving the nation. The owner and coordinator of Rau’s IAS Study Circle have been arrested and charged with culpable homicide along with four others.