BJP Vs AAP: Political Slugfest Ensues In Delhi After 3 UPSC Aspirants Die In Flooding

Three aspiring civil servants tragically died after being trapped in the flooded basement of the Rao IAS Study Centre in Delhi's Old Rajendra Nagar on Saturday.

The fire department received a call about the waterlogging around 7 pm and promptly launched a rescue operation.

Photo Credit: PTI

The police have registered a criminal case in connection with the students' deaths.

Rescue Ops

Initially, the body of a female student was retrieved by the NDRF, local police, and fire department. Later, the bodies of two more students were found.

According to DCP Central M Harshavardhan, the rescue operations were still underway with about seven feet of water remaining in the basement.

He stated, "There is still about seven feet of water in the basement," but indicated the operation was nearing completion with one final search pending.

Students Inside

At the time of flooding, around 30 students were inside the coaching centre. Approximately 13 to 14 of them were rescued and taken to the hospital, while others managed to escape.

Fire Officer Atul Garg reported that five fire engines arrived at the scene following the flood report.

Protests

A group of students staged a protest against the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), citing recurrent waterlogging issues.

One student remarked, "80% of libraries are in the basements of the coaching centre...MCD has not taken action on this."

The police, however, urged students to avoid protests to prevent hampering rescue operations.

DCP Harshavardhan said, "I request the student community to not come here and hamper the rescue services. We share their pain, but coming here to the spot is not the solution. It will hamper the rescue services."

The Delhi police have detained two individuals and registered a criminal case. Forensic teams are actively collecting evidence. Harshavardhan said, "We are committed to the fact that we should have a proper investigation. We are committed to registering a strong case and finding out the truth."

Political slugfest

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva slammed the AAP government, demanding an inquiry into the "corruption" within the MCD.

"There should be an inquiry into the corruption of Arvind Kejriwal, Atishi and their government... There should be an inquiry as to why the drainage was not cleaned. Will they order an inquiry into this?" he said.

BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla accused the AAP of "criminal negligence," stating, "It is criminal negligence... The question is, who will take the responsibility...There have been several deaths. Do the lives of the people of Delhi hold no value? Arvind Kejriwal and his government's priority is press conferences, advertisements and blame games...AAP is responsible for this. AAP's priority is to save Kejriwal from the liquor scam, but they don't care about the lives of the residents of Delhi."

Meanwhile, Delhi minister Atishi assured that those responsible would face consequences. "I am taking updates on the incident every minute. A magistrate has been ordered to investigate how this incident happened," she wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) in Hindi.

(With agency inputs)