Delhi: Protests after students drown in Rau’s IAS Study Circle building

The tragedy unfolded on Saturday evening, after the capital had received heavy rains through the day.

Delhi’s fire department received a call around 19:00 local time (14:30 GMT) about water entering the basement of the coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar.

The institute operated a library and reading room in the basement – illegally, government officials later said – and around three dozen students and some staff members were inside at the time.

Some students have told media that a gate at the entrance of the coaching centre collapsed, causing water accumulated on the road to rush in. But other reports said that a nearby drain burst due to heavy rains, resulting in a deluge.

Witnesses said the basement flooded quickly, giving people little time to escape. While some managed to do so, others had to be rescued by the authorities.

It isn’t clear what caused the three students to get trapped inside the basement.

A student named Rajan (who used only one name) told BBC Hindi that days before the incident, the doors of the basement library had been replaced with ones that had a biometric system.

“It seems that due to water-logging, the biometric system failed and people could not get out,” he alleged.

Officials from the institute have not addressed this allegation. In a statement, Rau’s IAS Study Circle said it was “deeply saddened” by the deaths and was “co-operating fully” with the investigation.

The bodies of the three students were recovered by divers who searched the basement for several hours.