Coaching centre deaths: Civil services aspirants meet MCD Commissioner, ‘outsiders’ removed from protest

New Delhi, July 31
A delegation of civil services aspirants met MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar at the agency headquarters here on Wednesday amid protests that have erupted following the death of three students at a coaching centre in the national capital.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police on Wednesday removed a few “outsiders” from a protest site in Rajinder Nagar, where hundreds have been demonstrating outside Rau’s IAS Study Circle, where the incident took place last week.

During their meeting with Kumar, the civil services aspirants highlighted the poor safety measures at several coaching centres in the national capital, posing a threat to their lives, among other issues.

“Twenty-six of us met the commissioner today. We submitted several short-term and long-term demands seeking a written response from him. He (Commissioner) said a press release carrying his response on our demands will be released by Thursday,” said Arzu, one of the aspirants part of the delegation.

“The immediate demands that we raised include compensation for the deceased, fixing responsibility of the coaching institute, and releasing FIR copy and CCTV footage of the incident,” she said.

“The long-term demands include action against institutes that have hiked fees from Rs 2,000-3,000 to Rs 5,000-6,000 for libraries set up on higher floors after those operating in basement were sealed. We also demanded inspection of mess facilities here and other poor living conditions,” she added.

The delegation was escorted to the Civic Centre office in a police bus and were later brought back to the protest site after the meeting, officials said.

The protest to seek justice for the three students who died at the coaching centre on July 27, which has seen participation from more than 400 civil services aspirants, is ongoing since Sunday under heavy police deployment.

According to a police officer, over a dozen individuals were removed from the protest site on Wednesday as they were identified as “outsiders” and not students of any coaching institute.

The students are demanding better facilities and are adamant about keeping the issue non-political.

They have alleged that certain “outsiders” have been attempting to disrupt their cause by raising political slogans at the protest site.

Meanwhile, Delhi Education Minister Atishi on Wednesday met protesting students at old Rajinder Nagar and asked them to give names of 10 representatives who will be part of a panel that will draft a law to regulate coaching institutes in the city.

Atishi faced slogans of “Go back”, “We want justice”, but she sat with the protestors and assured them of government support for their issues.

The protesting students said a coordination committee comprising 15 members has been formed to decide the protest's future course of action and communicate with the authorities concerned.

Some students also began a hunger strike on Tuesday against the MCD to press their demands.

Senior police officers are visiting the protest site and interacting with the demonstrators to understand their demands, DCP (Central) M Harsha Vardhan said.

DCP Vardhan said, “On Tuesday, committee members formed by the students had met Delhi L-G. I have also given them (students) information about what action has been taken, and how far the investigation has gone.”

The Delhi Police on Tuesday questioned VP Gupta, the father-in-law of the owner of the coaching centre.

The police have also asked four municipal officers to join the investigation.

A senior police officer said that they questioned Gupta about ownership rights of the coaching centre, adding that they may also summon Rau’s IAS Study Circle owner Abhishek Gupta’s wife for questioning.

Five persons, including four co-owners of basement of the building where the coaching centre was functioning were arrested.

The driver of an SUV which drove through the flooded street, causing the water to swell and breach the gates of the three-storey building and inundate the basement, was among the five arrested. The SUV was also seized.