Students demand accountability, voice safety concerns

The death of three civil services aspirants at a coaching institute here have sparked outrage among students and demand for accountability from the Delhi government.

Students of Rao's IAS Study Circle and other institutes have expressed voiced 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 preliminary probe houses a library.

"The biggest responsibility of the incident lies with Rao IAS Study Circle as the incident took place there," a student, who did not wish to be named, said. He said Delhi authorities showed "negligence" when there were similar incidents in Mukherjee Nagar and did not take any strict action even then. He also highlighted last week's incident in Patel Nagar, where a civil services aspirant got electrocuted in a waterlogged street following heavy rain in the national capital.

Another student highlighted the safety concerns at the city's coaching centres. "There is a systemic problem in these coaching centres with a lack of interest in safety measures," she said. "There are no fire exits or emergency exits. Those with a bright future are at risk. We want to serve the nation by joining the bureaucracy, and if the system doesn't work for us, we will lose faith in it," the civil services aspirant said, as she urged locals and fellow students to join the cause.