Delhi coaching centre deaths: Students start indefinite hunger strike until demands are met

Students stage a protest over the death of three civil services aspirants. Pic/PTI

The civil services aspirants, who are protesting outside Rau's IAS coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar on Tuesday, went on an indefinite hunger strike, demanding action in connection with the case of the deaths of three students.

According to the PTI report, one of the protesting students said that ten aspirants have started an indefinite hunger strike till their main demands, including compensation of Rs five crore to the victims' families, are met.

"Somewhere we had a brief hope that the administration would listen to us; we would be heard, heard by the UPSC coaching lobby, heard by the authority, but after four days we have come to the realisation that this protest is going nowhere," said a woman, who is on a hunger strike, reported PTI.

She said, "We are not taken seriously. Just because we are aspirants, they think that we will break and, after some days, we will go back to our studies. So here we are to make sure that this incident does not disappear till justice is served."

As per the enws agency report, the main demands are compensation of Rs five crore to the victims' families, the committee should report within a specified time frame, all the details of the FIR filed in the incident, and a prohibition on using basements for libraries and classes across Delhi, another protestor added.

Three civil service aspirants died on Saturday evening after water from a flooded drain gushed into the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar, where a library was set up.

Students demand accountability voice safety concerns

The deaths of three civil service aspirants at a coaching institute have sparked outrage among students and demand accountability from the Delhi government.

Shreya Yadav of Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Navin Dalwin from Ernakulam in Kerala died after the basement of the building housing the coaching centre Rau's IAS Study Circle was flooded following heavy rain in central Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar area on Saturday evening, officials said.

Students of Rau's IAS Study Circle and other institutes have expressed their anger over the incident, highlighted safety violations at coaching centres across the city, and raised questions over the "negligence" of the Delhi government.

Students held a protest and raised slogans against authorities outside the coaching centre over the deaths in the basement, which, according to the preliminary probe, houses a library.

(With inputs from PTI)