Delhi LG Vinai Kumar Saxena on Monday suspended two Group ‘A’ officers in connection with the tragic death of three students at Rau’s Coaching Centre in Old Rajendra Nagar. As per the update shared by the Lieutenant Governor's office, Group ‘A’ officers-- Ved Pal, Divisional Officer and Udai Vir Singh of the Fire Safety Department, GNCTD are suspended with immediate effect. The action has been taken over the deaths of three civil services aspirants in the flooded basement of Rau IAS coaching in Delhi.
Delhi LG suspends officers
Ved Pal, Divisional Officer, and Udai Vir Singh, Assistant Divisional Officer, have been placed under suspension for concealing facts. The LG has directed to action against these officers.
Officers concealed information
As per the detailed investigation conducted by District Magistrate (Central) the two suspended officers had inspected the premises for the issuance of a Fire Safety Certificate. However, they were found to have concealed information about the misuse of the basement as library and did not inform the error to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
Rau IAS Coaching case
IAS aspirants – Shreya Yadav of Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Navin Dalwin from Ernakulam in Kerala – died on July 26, 2024 after they were trapped inside the library running in the basement of Old Rajinder Nagar-based Rau's IAS Study Circle, which was flooded due to rain.
Violation of rules by Delhi coaching centres
The tragic death of the students in the coaching centre alarmed the authorities and upon investigating over 10 coaching centers were found to be violating the rules. The Master Plan of Delhi 2021 (MPD 2021) and Unified Building Bylaws (UBBL) 2016, which provide clear guidelines on basement usage, were violated.
MPD 2021 specifies that basements in residential and commercial buildings can only be used for storage, parking, and utility areas.
Rau’s IAS Study Circle, located in Old Rajender Nagar, violated these regulations by using its basement as a library. Despite having a completion certificate from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) that restricted basement use, the coaching center continued to operate its library in the basement.
