3 UPSC Aspirants Die After Delhi IAS Centre Floods; Who Were They?

Three civil service aspirants tragically lost their lives after the basement of a coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar, central Delhi, flooded following heavy rain on July 27. Rescuers recovered the bodies of 25-year-old Shreya Yadav from Uttar Pradesh,  21-year-old Tanya Soni from Telangana, and  29-year-old Nevin Delvin from Kerala from the basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle coaching centre. Disaster response teams and firefighters pumped out the water from the basement, but the rescue operation was delayed due to severe waterlogging outside the building.

Three Civil Service Aspirants Die in the Flooded Coaching Centre Basement

Shreya Yadav

Shreya Yadav, 25, had moved to Delhi in April and joined Rau’s IAS Study Circle in May. According to her uncle, Dharmendra Yadav, Shreya was a bright student with no familial pressure to pursue civil services. She had completed her bachelor's degree in science from a university in Uttar Pradesh and was also pursuing post-graduation in mass communication from a university in Haryana.

Dharmendra Yadav, a resident of Noida, received the devastating news late on July 27 night. Despite his frantic search at the coaching centre and Shreya’s paying guest accommodation, he eventually found her name among the deceased at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital’s mortuary. Shreya is survived by her parents, Rajendra Yadav and Shanti, and two brothers. Her family is demanding strict punishment for the coaching centre's owner, citing negligence in flood management.

Tanya Soni

Tanya Soni, 21, hails from Masjid Gali, Nabinagar town in Aurangabad, but her family resides in Secunderabad, Telangana. Tanya’s father, Vijay Soni, an engineer, is devastated by her untimely death. The family had high hopes for Tanya, who was a meritorious student with aspirations of becoming an IAS or IPS officer. She had completed her BSc in Hyderabad and had been in Delhi for one and a half years for coaching.

Her uncle, Ajay Soni, shared that the family is in deep shock and grieving the loss of their promising member. Tanya’s grandfather, Gopal Prasad Soni, is also heartbroken. Ajay Soni also called for strict action against those responsible for the flooding and the coaching centre’s management. Tanya's siblings, Palak and Aditya Soni looked up to her as an inspiration.

Nevin Delvin

Nevin Delvin, 29, was a native of Kerala’s Ernakulam and had been in Delhi for eight years for his education. He was a PhD scholar in visual arts at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and had completed his MPhil from the same university. His friend Vijith mentioned that Nevin was a promising academic, but they were unaware of his civil service preparation.

Toni, a member of the Delhi Malayali Association, stated that Nevin's parents, Lancelete, a retired professor, and Delvin Suresh, a retired deputy superintendent of Kerala Police, are in shock and were expected to arrive in Delhi on Sunday night. A faculty member at the institute noted that Nevin had taken coaching in 2022 and only visited for study material and self-preparation.

Grief and Calls for Accountability

The tragic incident has left the families of the deceased in deep mourning and has raised questions about the safety measures in place at the coaching centre. The families and friends of Shreya, Tanya, and Nevin are demanding accountability and stricter safety protocols to prevent such incidents in the future.