'Guilty will be brought to book': Delhi LG slams AAP govt after coaching centre deaths, assures strict action

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Sunday condemned the incident that led to the death of four civil services aspirants in two separate incidents in the national capital, calling it "most unfortunate and unacceptable."

On Saturday, three civil services aspirants died in the flooded basement of a coaching center in Delhi's Old Rajendra Nagar after heavy rainfall. Earlier in the week, another aspirant died due to electrocution caused by waterlogging. These incidents have sparked massive outrage.

In a series of posts on X, Saxena blamed "criminal neglect and failure of basic maintenance and administration by the relevant agencies and departments" as the primary cause of these incidents.

"Drainage in the City and related infrastructure, as also required efforts and endeavours to address these have apparently collapsed," the L-G said.

“It is indicative of the larger malaise of misgovernance that Delhi has been subjected to during the last decade or so.”

He also questioned the role of coaching institutions and landlords for not ensuring the safety of students, who pay substantial fees and rent.

“What has been happening is unpardonable and such issues can no more be glossed over,” he added.

The L-G stated that he has ordered the Divisional Commissioner to provide a detailed report on the incident by Tuesday. He also promised that those responsible for the negligence will be held accountable.

"While nothing can bring back the precious young lives lost due to apathy of the administration and criminal misconduct of those running coaching institutions, responsibility of those who caused the loss of lives, will be fixed and guilty will be brought to book," Saxena wrote.

On Sunday, the owner and coordinator of a coaching center were arrested following protests in the area. Officials stated that the coaching institute had permission to use the basement as a storeroom, but it was being used as a library, which is a violation of the rules.