NEW DELHI: The Delhi chief secretary on Tuesday submitted a magisterial inquiry report to Revenue Minister Atishi in the Old Rajinder Nagar coaching centre deaths. The report said the coaching institute completely blocked the drainage system and did not take measures to meet such eventualities.
Atishi, however, said she had asked the chief secretary to initiate a magisterial probe and submit a report within 24 hours. But what she received was an incident report on Monday.
The minister was told that the inquiry would take seven more days. “It is unfortunate that the bureaucracy is showing laxity in the investigation. It raises questions whether the culprits are being protected,” said the minister.
“The parking access to the institute is directly exposed to the road and in case of a heavy rain, water flows directly into the parking area instead of going into the stormwater drain,” the report said. “In the absence of vigil by security staff, the water crossed the parking area and entered the basement, resulting in the death of three bright children,” said the report.
It said the violation by the owner for using the basement for other than storage purposes led to the incident. It was evident from the local residents’ version that the basement gate worked with a biometric/access control lock system and the students could not come out quickly.