Did biometric door trap students inside flooded basement?

There was no biometric lock system in the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle in New Delhi where three civil services aspirants died due to flooding on July 27, students of the institute said on Tuesday.

According to some reports, the three students were trapped in the basement of the building of Rau's IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar as the biometric lock malfunctioned after water gushed in following heavy rain.

A 22-year-old student of Rau's IAS Study Circle said no biometric lock system was installed in the basement of the building.

"There was no biometric lock system in the basement. The basement was primarily used for conducting mock tests and storing study material," the student, who hails from Uttar Pradesh's Hapur, told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

The student said there were two doors in the basement and one was usually locked around 6 pm.

"I think that the students who died were trapped somewhere near the locked gate due to which they could not come out," he said.

The institute's administration would close the library every time it rained but I don't know what happened that day, he said.

The student said the incident took place after he left the institute for the day.

"I used to study in the same library almost every day but that day my class got over around 6:10 pm and I left," he said.

Another student of Rau's IAS Study Circle also said there was no biometric or automatic door locking system in the basement of the coaching centre.

"Though this system is commonly used in basements of many institutes, it had not been installed here," he said.

The student said waterlogging is a problem in the area every year.

"We heard this problem occurs every year. The students and the institute administration have made several complaints to the civic authorities but nothing has been done so far," he claimed.