Anshita Mehra

New Delhi, July 29

Two days after the death of three students in the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle at Old Rajinder Nagar here, protesting students flagged several unanswered questions, including "whereabouts of their missing fellows". However, the police maintained that three students died in the tragedy and there was nothing to hide.

Several students The Tribune spoke to said phones of many of their friends, said to have been rescued from the site, remained unreachable.

Protesting civil services aspirants met Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Monday and handed over a memorandum, seeking immediate compensation for the families of the deceased students. They also sought complete information on every student who was inside the basement of the coaching centre on Saturday evening when water from a nearby drain flooded it.

"The police and administration should stop withholding information on the exact number of casualties," an aspirants urged the L-G.

When asked about the students' concern over the number of casualties, the L-G office said, "The L-G has ordered a comprehensive probe into the tragedy and the report of the Divisional Commissioner is expected on Tuesday. The students are naturally agitated and have concerns. We are probing the issue."

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the fire department service officer who led the rescue operation had proceeded on a 10-day leave, raising further questions about the incident.

Though the police maintained only three IAS aspirants died in the tragedy, many students have questioned the claim.

"There were at least six to seven more students stuck in the basement that evening," claimed Abhishek, a UPSC aspirant. "We have been told there were around 30 students inside the basement that night and 27 either escaped or were rescued. Where are they and why are we not being allowed to meet those rescued?"

Anjali, a student of Vajiram and Ravi IAS Coaching Centre, expressed skepticism about the official numbers. "At least 30-40 students were studying in the library in the basement at the time of the incident. We need full assurance that all students who were inside are safe," she said.

Some students asked why the coaching centre was not releasing the data from the biometric system installed at the entrance of the library. This could reveal who entered and left the premises, they said.

Shubham, another student, said, "Many of our friends are not answering their phones. We just want to know where they are." The students also accused political parties of exploiting the tragedy for their gains. "Mayor Shelly Oberoi, MLA Durgesh Pathak and BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj came, but they did not speak to us," said Kanishka, a protester.

3 deaths in incident: Police

When asked to respond to students' allegations, DCP Central Harsh Vardhan said three students died in the tragedy and there was nothing to hide. "The students should give us the name of one missing person. It is a most ridiculous proposition that deaths in an incident can be hidden," he said.

Asked about students' demand that biometric entry data be shared and tallied with those rescued, he said, "No such device was found." Vardhan said police did not know if those rescued had gone home or not.