Don't want compensation, only action: Kin of victim killed in Delhi coaching centre flooding

New Delhi: Remembering Nevin Delvin as a bright student, his uncle sought answers on the Delhi coaching centre flooding incident last week that killed his nephew and two other civil services aspirants.

Delvin (28) is survived by his parents and younger sister. His mother Lanclet Delvin, a professor in Kochi, had to be hospitalised after she learnt about her son's passing.

His father Delvin Suresh retired as an assistant commissioner of police and his younger sister is a graduate student. "Everyone had huge expectations from him. We learnt about the incident on Sunday morning and there has been an atmosphere of grief at home since then. His mother has not been able to process the loss and is in hospital," Delvin's uncle Linu Raj told PTI.

Three Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) aspirants died due to flooding of the Rau's IAS Study Circle building basement in the central Delhi coaching hub of Old Rajinder Nagar following heavy rain on July 27. Delvin came to Delhi four years ago to pursue his PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and enrolled in Rau's IAS Study Circle in May to pursue his dream of becoming a civil servant.

"He was extremely calm, kind and a bright student," his uncle said outside the RML Hospital mortuary. Delvin's post-mortem was conducted on Monday and his body handed over to his family. His uncle will take the body to his village in Thiruvananthapuram.

As he waited for the handover, Raj spoke to police officers. He could be heard asking them about the reasons behind the tragedy, the progress of the probe and the shortcomings in the building plan.

The investigators assured him that they were probing into the incident and urged him not to worry. Raj said his only demand was action against coaching institutes so that similar incidents did not recur.

"What will we do with compensation? Nevin (Delvin) won't return. We just want action to be taken so that young lives are not lost in the future," he said.

Delvin's friends from JNU were also present to console his family members. One of them, Annu, said, "I have lost a close friend. He was studious and ambitious."

"He would have achieved something really big in life," he said.

Inputs from PTI