UPSC Coaching Centre Deaths: One PhD Student, 2 Graduates – And Dreams Cut Short

Nevin, Tanya, and Shreya may have belonged to different parts of India, but they shared one common goal.

A Kerala-born PhD research student from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), a Delhi University graduate, and the first girl from her village in Uttar Pradesh to prepare for Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams.

Twenty-nine-year-old Nevin Dalvin, Tanya Soni (21), and Shreya Yadav (25) may have belonged to different parts of India, but they shared one common goal – to become IAS officers and serve the country.

Yet, the three civil service aspirants met with a similar fate in the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle in New Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar on Saturday, 27 July as they allegedly drowned in the underground library due to floodwaters caused by heavy rains.

"Never in our lives did we imagine that such a day would come. We have no words to express... Our family is shattered by the news."

Dharmendra Yadav, Shreya Yadav's uncle

As of Monday, 29 July, the Delhi Police arrested a total of seven people, including Rau's CEO Abhishek Gupta and coaching coordinator Deshpal Singh in relation with the case. According to police officials, the coaching centre neither had clearance to use the basement as a library nor a drainage system in the basement.

After the incident sparked massive outrage, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) sealed 13 coaching centres in violation of rules.

What Happened on 27 July?

The fateful incident took place at around 7 pm on 27 July. The iron gate to Rau's IAS Study Circle broke and water gushed in after heavy rains led to waterlogging on the main road in Old Rajinder Nagar.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), accessed by The Quint, police received a phone call at 7 pm, informing that students were trapped in the flooded basement of the building that housed the coaching centre. Soon after, the Department of Delhi Fire Services and the National Disaster Response Force were informed, the FIR said.

“A police team rushed to the spot where it was found that a few students were trapped inside the basement which was flooded with water... The water from the road entered the basement due to improper drainage system, causing flooding and risking the lives of many students..."

Delhi Police FIR

Within two hours, the bodies of all the three victims were recovered, police said. You can read more about it here.

'Have No Words to Describe Our Feelings': Kin of Victims

Shocked and devastated – the families of Nevin, Tanya, and Shreya are struggling to cope with the loss of their loved ones.

It was around 11 pm on Saturday when Dharmendra Yadav, Shreya's uncle, who she used to stay with in Ghaziabad, saw the events unfold on news channels. Panic-stricken Yadav immediately made frantic calls to his niece. When it went unanswered, he rushed to her PG in West Delhi's Shadipur, and found her room locked.

"Since she did not answer, I rang up her friends, but they too were not able to reach her. It wasn't very clear whether anyone was stuck inside the library or not. When the news of students dying came up, I rushed to the centre to find out. I reached there around 1 am and saw it was extremely crowded. No one gave me a proper response when I asked them. No one informed us until very late."

Dharmendra Yadav, Shreya Yadav's uncle

Dharmendra alleges that when he spoke to the police, the latter informed him that they couldn't reveal the names of the students but confirmed that lives had been lost.

After running around for nearly an hour, he reached the mortuary at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. "I went to the mortuary and found her name among the three dead. At the same time, the police called us..." a teary-eyed Dharmendra said.

Twenty-five-year-old Shreya, who hailed from a village in Uttar Pradesh's Ambedkar Nagar, was the second of three children of Rajendra Yadav, a farmer who also runs a diary outlet, and Shanti Devi, a housewife.

After completing a four-year programme in BSc Agriculture from a college in Sultanpur, she joined the IAS coaching institute four months ago and was gearing up for her first attempt.

Initially, she was staying with her uncle in Ghaziabad, but soon shifted to a PG to concentrate on her studies. She was the first girl to pursue UPSC in her village in Ambedkar Nagar, said Dharmendra, Rajendra's younger brother and Shreya's guardian.

"She was a brilliant student. She was hardworking, studious, and wanted to do civil services since she was young. There was no pressure from us, but we knew she would be able to crack the exam," Dharmendra told The Quint.

While Shreya's elder brother Abhishek Yadav was pursuing his MA in Journalism in Haryana, she is also survived by a younger brother who is in Class 7.

“We last spoke to Didi (Shreya) over the phone on the night of 26 July. After that, Chachu (Dharmendra) called us and asked us if we had spoken to her since, and we said no. He didn't tell us much after that. Later, we got a call telling us that she had drowned..."

Abhishek Yadav

“My father always encouraged Didi to study, following which he sent her to prepare for the UPSC exam. She also got a job in Delhi, but we told her not to take it and focus on cracking the exam,” Abhishek added.

Shreya’s last rites were performed at her village in Ambedkar Nagar on Monday morning, Dharmendra Yadav said, adding that his brother and his sister-in-law are "absolutely shattered."

"We are a tight-knit joint family. She was a lovely child, who was very caring towards all of us. Though I am her uncle, I was like a father figure to her... it's a huge loss for the Yadav family. Her parents are not in the state to talk. My bhabhi (sister-in-law) is in shock," he told The Quint.

'Eldest Son of Family, Most Loved One': Nevin's Kin

Twenty-nine-year-old Nevin Dalvin, a native of Kerala’s Ernakulum district, came to Delhi around eight years ago for his higher education. A PhD scholar at JNU, Dalvin had also completed his MPhil from the university.

It was only recently that Dalvin enrolled himself in Rau's IAS Institute. While Nevin's father Dalvin Suresh retired as Deputy Superintendent of Police, his mother Lancelet TS is a professor with the Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit in Ernakulum's Kalady. His younger sister Nessy is an assistant professor at a local college.

According to Betty, a family friend of the Dalvins, Nevin's family was returning home from church on Sunday, 28 July when they found out about the tragedy.

"Lancelet did not know about the incident until Sunday. She checked her mobile phone after attending church. It was when she returned one of the missed calls that she found out that Nevin had passed away. She fell unconscious and had to be taken to the local hospital."

Betty to The Quint

“Lancelet used to visit the church often and her Sunday prayers were meant to pray for Nevin and his career," Betty told The Quint.

Meanwhile, Nevin's uncle Linuraj flew to Delhi as soon as he heard the news. "Nevin's parents were not in the state of mind to travel, so I flew to Delhi to manage things. The post-mortem has just taken place and we are taking his body back to Kerala and the funeral is tomorrow (Tuesday)," he said.

"Nevin was the eldest in the family. He was a very caring, charming, bright and cheerful person. After his father retired from police services, he became extremely responsible and took care of his family. It's a huge loss for us, what more can I say?"

Linuraj to The Quint

Meanwhile, 21-year-old Tanya Soni, who hailed from Bihar’s Aurangabad had joined the coaching centre a month and a half ago after completing her BA in Political Science from Delhi University. According to Tanya's father Vijay Kumar, cracking UPSC was her "childhood dream."

The family resides in Telangana's Mancherial. Her father, Vijay Kumar, his wife, and another daughter were on the way to Lucknow in a train when they received the news of Tanya's death. They deboarded the train in Nagpur and flew to Delhi on Sunday, news agency PTI reported. The family has now reached their native town in Bihar, reports said.

'We Need Justice...'

Incidentally, months before the tragedy took place, a UPSC aspirant had warned the MCD about the risk to students’ lives at the private coaching centre. Kishor Singh Kushwah, the complainant, had flagged the allegedly illegal use of the basement by Rau’s IAS Study Circle – and claimed that the centre did not have the necessary permissions.

“Despite not having permission, they [Rau’s] are running a classroom without NOC [no objection certificate] in the basement; they are running test classes, which are affecting the lives of students and staff,” the complaint read, the copy of which The Quint has seen.

On Sunday, Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi wrote to MCD to ensure that strict action is taken against the coaching centre for violating Delhi’s building bylaws.

“All such coaching centres across Delhi which are under the jurisdiction of MCD and running commercial activities in basements which are in violation of building bylaws and are not as per norms, strict action should be taken against them immediately.”

The mayor’s notice

Speaking to the media, Shreya's brother Abhishek said:

"How will one ever think of moving their children away for education anymore? There was no librarian, no emergency exits, nothing. The institute is responsible for this, but they did not even bother to call us to inform. How does the administration allow activities to continue in the basements?"

Dharmendra Yadav told The Quint that the family demands justice for what had happened.

"Those who have given birth only know the value of life. It shouldn’t be lost due to mismanagement. I demand that the owner of the institute is jailed and gets punishment. This should not happen again," he said.

Meanwhile, Nevin's uncle Linuraj said that the government must ensure that no coaching centre runs in violation of rules and puts "lives of young people at risk."

"All those who violated norms should be charged. Strict action must be taken," he added.