‘Coaching centers have become mafia’: Death of Delhi UPSC student triggers storm in Parliament

Parliament on Monday witnessed a storm after lawmakers raised concerns over the death of three Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) aspirants who drowned in the flooded basement of the Rau IAS study circle in Old Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi. question, calling the matter their greatest concern. MPs across party lines have raised issues related to the safety of students studying in coaching institutions and preparing for competitive exams.

Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar criticized the commercialization of coaching centres, highlighting their frequent advertisements in newspapers.

“I have received a notice under Section 267… They have asked for a discussion on the tragic death of a UPSC candidate in Delhi due to negligence of the authorities… I find that the youth demographic dividend of the country must be nurtured and I further find that coaching has become a de facto It's business. Every time we read the newspaper, the first page or two are their ads…” he said.

He also agreed to hold a short discussion in the Federal House on the tragic incident and vowed to meet with leaders of all parties to discuss the issue.

Congress MP KC Venugopal also raised the matter in the Lok Sabha during proceedings and said that coaching centers are now becoming mafia. He also urged the government to take strict action against the accused.

“Student suicide is one of the most important issues in the country. In another House, the minister gave the answer in 2023. The day before yesterday, three students lost their lives in a coaching center in Delhi. This coaching center did not have a sanctioned building at all. Some Coaching centers have become mafia. When will the government take any action against them?

New Delhi Lok Sabha MP and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Bansuri Swaraj lambasted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government's attitude towards the incident, saying it was AAP's indifference that led to the failure of three UPSCs in the national capital Death of candidate.

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Praveen Khandelwal also lashed out at AAP and said: “This is not an accusation. MCD is affiliated to AAP, which has also governed Delhi for the past 9 years. Similar incidents happen every year, but AAP has not found a concrete solution plans to solve this problem. The relevant responsible personnel must be severely punished to prevent such incidents from happening again… Just sealing down a few training institutions will not help the long-term solution…”

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also urged compensation for the relatives of the victims, saying that compensation was needed in the matter, but any compensation would not be enough to make up for the loss. He also said that the coaching institute violated basic norms but the MCD did not take any action. He also visited Delhi's RML Hospital and met the family of Nevin Dalvin, one of the students who drowned there.

“It's a disgrace, there's no doubt about it…the dreams of those young people have been dashed and the hopes of their families have been extinguished. It's extremely sad for the country, for the future of the country, for the future of our youth. .What solutions can you propose when lives are lost? …Yes, compensation should be provided to ensure that this does not happen again so that no one suffers the same loss again…” he said.

Independent MP Pappu Yadav also raised the matter, saying that one of the deceased, Tanya, a native of Bihar, died due to water accumulation in the basement of the coaching institute. He said the government should take steps to protect the safety of students from across the country preparing for competitive examinations.

What happened to Law's academy?

On Saturday, the IAS Study Circle tutoring center in Los Angeles was flooded due to heavy rains, and three students drowned in the basement.

The basement was eight feet off the ground and several students were present when the incident occurred Saturday night.

Seven hours later, disaster rescue teams recovered the bodies of two women and a man from the scene. The police identified the victims as Shreya Yadav (25) from Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni (25) from Telangana and Navin Dalwin (28) from Ernakulam in Kerala .

The owner and coordinator of the tutoring center were arrested and charged with manslaughter, among other charges. The police identified the owner as Abhishek Gupta and the other accused as Deshpal Singh. Both the accused were sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

Meanwhile, a junior engineer has been sacked and an assistant engineer has been suspended in connection with the case. After the tragic incident came to light, the MCD launched a crackdown on illegal tuition centers and vowed to set up a high-level committee to investigate the incident of water intrusion in the basement of the tuition center that led to the death of three civil servants.

The MCD has dispatched bulldozers to the Old Rajender Nagar area to take action against alleged encroachments. Local government and police officials were also present.

According to the opinion of the institution