KOCHI: Shock, sadness and unbelief were written large on the faces of the relatives and neighbours of Kochi native Nevin Dalvin (28), who was one among the three IAS aspirants drowned in Delhi after the basement of a coaching institute for civil service exams flooded on Saturday.
They couldn't grasp that Nevin, a brilliant student and researcher who aspired to be an IAS officer, is dead. The three IAS aspirants -- the other two are from Telangana and Uttar Pradesh -- drowned in the basement of Rao's IAS Academy in Delhi's Old Rajendra Nagar, after a drain had burst which then led to the flooding where the institute's library is located.
Standing on the lawn of Lans Villa at Mundangamattam at Kalady, Anna Joseph, the ward member, said the entire village is shocked after learning the development. "Though we rarely met, the people living around have a very good opinion about them. Both Nevin and his younger sister Nessy are known to be studious," she said.
Nevin's father Dalvin Suresh retired as Deputy Superintendent of Police and his mother Lancelet T S is a professor with the Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS) at Kalady.
Jaleesh Peter, public relations officer (PRO) of SSUS, said, Nevin did both his M Phil and PhD at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). "He was doing research in Museology and had submitted his thesis. However, he wanted to appear for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination and had started going to the coaching classes at Rao's Academy," he said.
According to him, the family are natives of Thiruvananthapuram. "They settled at Mundagamattom after his mother Lancelet started her job with the SSUS. Lancelet teacher has also served as a syndicate member," he said, adding that Nevin was a studious person and used to spend his time at the academy's library, preparing for the UPSC examination.
Roji M John, the local MLA, said all steps needed to expedite bringing Nevin's body back home are being taken.
As per reports, seven students were in the library located in the basement of the building when water gushed in. Four of the seven managed to escape while three including Nevin drowned.