Three students died in the basement of the popular IAS coaching institute yesterday, police said

The owner and the coordinator of a coaching centre where three civil services aspirants died due to rain-induced flooding in the basement were arrested on Sunday even as protests erupted in the area over the incident

According to officials, the coaching institute had permission to use the basement as a store room, but it was being used as library which is a violation of the rules

Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi directed MCD commissioner to take strict action against institutes that are using basements for commercial purposes in violation of building bye-laws and against any officers responsible for the incident

Delhi Fire Service chief Atul Garg said the institute was functioning in violation of the norms of the fire department

"The building has fire NOC, but in the NOC they had shown the basement will be used as store room. The management of the institute was using the same room as a classroom or library which is a violation of the NOC," Garg told PTI

The basement of the coaching Institute in Old Rajendra Nagar where three civil services aspirants died by rain-induced flooding was functioning illegally as a library, officials said on Sunday

Rao's IAS Study Circle, the coaching institute, had falsely shown that the basement was being used for parking and as a store room, as per the building plan and No Objection Certificate (NOC) of the fire department

The three-storey coaching centre had its building plan approved by the concerned MCD department in 2021