A fatal fire at a bed-and-breakfast in Malviya Nagar, Delhi, has revealed widespread allegations of safety and building norm violations in numerous local establishments. Locals and guests claim many guest houses operate illegally, exceeding licensed capacities and using unsafe basement accommodations, prompting calls for comprehensive safety audits and stricter enforcement.
A similar drive will later be carried out across the city against establishments operating illegally from basements, the official said.
Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi was present at the site as the agency cracked down on illegally run basements of coaching institutes.
Two elderly women were found dead under mysterious circumstances inside their residence in central Delhi's New Rajinder Nagar on Thursday morning, with police saying there were no signs of forced entry into the house.
Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar, where three students died due to flooding in the basement of a coaching centre last week, was flooded again following a spell of heavy rain on Wednesday.
Two elderly women were found dead in their New Rajinder Nagar residence in Delhi. Police suspect age-related ailments as the cause of death, with no signs of forced entry.
With these arrests, the total number of people arrested in the case so far has gone to seven.
Rau's IAS Study Circle, where the three students were killed on Saturday after its basement was flooded due to rain, has already been sealed by police.
We have built an economy that can deliver everything -- from iPhones to biryani -- to a doorstep in 10 minutes, but it cannot deliver a fire engine through a lane in 20, points out Amit Kapoor.
The court said multi-storey buildings were being allowed to operate but there was no proper drainage.
The police identified the driver and the vehicle through the CCTV footage of the area.
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 student said there were two doors in the basement and one was usually locked around 6 pm.
Three civil services aspirants died on Saturday after the basement of a building, which was part of a coaching centre, was flooded following heavy rain in central Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar area.
Of the three civil service aspirants who drowned in the flooded basement of a coaching centre, one each was a student of the Jawaharlal Nehru University and Delhi University.
As per the cause list of October 21 uploaded on the apex court's website, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan is slated to hear the matter.
The basement of the coaching Institute in Old Rajendra Nagar where three civil services aspirants died by rain-induced flooding was functioning illegally as a library, officials said on Sunday.
The Delhi Police has registered a first information report (FIR) and formed multiple teams to probe the Rajinder Nagar coaching centre flooding incident which killed three IAS aspirants, officials said on Sunday.
Shreya Yadav (25) from Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni (25) from Telangana and Nevin Delvin (24) from Kerala drowned after water gushed into the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar here following heavy rains on July 27.
Delvin's post-mortem was conducted on Monday and his body handed over to his family. His uncle will take the body to his village in Thiruvananthapuram.
A team of the civic body reached the Old Rajinder Nagar area to seal several illegally-run basements of coaching centres, a statement by the Delhi government said.
The coaching centre at whose establishment three students died due to rain-induced flooding in the basement on Sunday condoled the loss of young lives and said they are fully committed to supporting the ongoing investigation.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has initiated action against coaching centres flouting norms and it will set up a high-level committee to probe the incident that claimed three lives due to flooding in a coaching centre's basement, MCD officials said on Sunday.
At least four UPSC coaching institutes -- Vajiram and Ravi Institute, Drishti IAS, NEXT IAS, and SRIRAM's IAS -- have offered Rs 10 lakh each to the families of Shreya Yadav, Tanya Soni and Nevin Dalvin, the three IAS aspirants who died after rainwater gushed inside of the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar on July 27.
'They charge such high fees and offer us this safety. Our lives have become a mockery.'
The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of the deaths of three civil services aspirants in the basement of a coaching centre in New Delhi and sought responses from the Centre and the Delhi government.
Officials have said an absence of drainage system and safety measures, and use of basement for commercial activities in violation of norms led to the death of three civil services aspirants at the coaching centre.
It is time for the administration to wake up from 'deep slumber' and take appropriate steps to address the condition of Delhi's coaching centres, the Delhi high court has said, while granting interim bail till November 30 to four co-owners of the basement of an Old Rajinder Nagar building that housed a coaching centre where three civil services aspirants drowned in July.
A few students were detained after they staged a protest in Old Rajinder Nagar in New Delhi on Sunday, demanding action against those responsible for the deaths of three civil services aspirants at a coaching centre in the area, and compensation for their families.
The interim magisterial inquiry report and the MCD Karol Bagh zone superintending engineer report were submitted to revenue minister Atishi who alleged that the "bureaucracy" was showing "laxity" in investigating the death of the civil services aspirants.
"What is Delhi Police doing? Have they lost it?" wondered the Delhi high court on Wednesday, while castigating the police for a 'strange' probe by arresting an SUV driver for his alleged role in drowning of three civil services aspirants at a coaching centre.
Coaching institutions across the national capital, some lined up in cramped lanes while others housed in lofty buildings in busy commercial areas, are risking the lives of students, with lack of fire safety measures, single entry and exit points, faulty wiring and overloaded electrical circuits among the most common problems.
Kathuria's wife Shima told PTI that her husband had no idea about the gate breaking apart due to his car, adding that his arrest has created a "state of panic" for the family.
The Congress on Sunday called for fixing accountability over the death of three IAS aspirants due to waterlogging in a building in Delhi with Rahul Gandhi asserting that common people are paying the price for irresponsibility of institutions at every level.
Criticising the police for arresting an SUV driver and blaming him for the incident, the high court said, "Mercifully, you have not challaned the rainwater for entering into the basement."
The Delhi Assembly elections saw BJP's Karnail Singh emerge as the richest winner with assets worth Rs 259 crore, Umang Bajaj at 31 as the youngest winner, Tilak Ram Gupta as the oldest contestant at 73, and AAP's Amanatullah Khan the candidate with the highest, 19, criminal cases. Several winning candidates have pending criminal cases, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms.
'BJP insiders acknowledge that the party needs to be helmed by someone who can match Arvind Kejriwal's stature.' 'A Sudhanshu Trivedi or Bansuri Swaraj could bring the freshness the party needs in Delhi,' points out Aditi Phadnis.
The coaching-tuition-profiteering model built on the back of a broken education system is a scandal and an abomination, and must go, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Students held a protest over the deaths of the civil services aspirants, raising slogans against authorities.
At least 10 flights scheduled to land at the Delhi airport were diverted -- eight to Jaipur and two to Lucknow -- due to inclement weather conditions. Airlines also warned of the possibility of more flight disruptions.
