Death of UPSC aspirants in Delhi:In U.P’s Ambedkarnagar, Shreya’s family in shock, last rites today

The family of Shreya Yadav, 25, one of the three UPSC aspirants who died after being trapped in a flooded basement at a Delhi coaching institute on Saturday, was in shock at Hashimpur Barsawan village of Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkarnagar district.

Her mother lay unconscious at the house while hundreds of people gathered outside since Sunday morning. Shreya was the eldest among her three siblings, including two brothers. She was preparing for the UPSC exam after doing BSc and MSc from Kamla Nehru Institute of Physical and Social Sciences in the adjoining Sultanpur district.

Talking to media persons, her brother Abhishek Yadav said she had taken admission at the Delhi institute to prepare for the UPSC exam merely four months ago in April this year. He said she was also pursuing post-graduation in mass communication from a university in Haryana.

“We last spoke to Didi (Shreya) over the phone on the night of July 26 and she had promised to visit the village on Rakshabandhan on August 19,” he said.

“But the news of her death reached us on Saturday night when my uncle Dharmendra Yadav informed my father Rajendra Yadav about it,” he said, unable to hold back the tears.

He said Shreya stayed in a rented accommodation near the coaching institute under the guardianship of her uncle Dharmendra Yadav, who lives in Gautam Buddhnagar. He said Dharmendra Yadav is a politician and a national spokesman for the Samajwadi Party.

Abhishek said his father Rajendra Yadav operated a dairy at Bhaskari market in Ambedkarnagar and did some farming in the village.

“My father always encouraged Didi to study following which he sent her to prepare for the UPSC exam,” Abhishek said.

He demanded the strictest action against people responsible for his sister’s death. He said his father had immediately left for Delhi along with some friends. “He was unable to speak over the phone after seeing Didi’s body. Other people informed us that they will reach with her body by Sunday night,” Abhishek said.

He also said sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), Sadar, Saurabh Shukla visited the house and assured them of all possible help.

Shreya’s last rites would be performed at her native village on Monday morning, her uncle Dharmendra Yadav said.

Additional district magistrate, finance and revenue, of Sant Kabir Nagar district, Sadanand Gupta, said the administration was providing all assistance to bring the body back to Ambedkarnagar and it would reach the village by late night.

Talking to Hindustan Times, her uncle Dharmendra Yadav said Shreya had done BSc in agriculture from Kamla Nehru Institute of Agriculture Science, Sultanpur, with 80% marks.

“Shreya was academically brilliant and had the potential to clear the civil services examination,” he said.

He also said, “She had taken admission at the coaching centre in April this year and her father Rajendra Yadav, who is a farmer and runs a dairy outlet, had taken a loan of ₹1.60 lakh to pay her coaching fees that was deposited a week ago.”

Dharmendra Yadav demanded to book the coaching centre owner and raised questions on issuance of no objection certificate by the Delhi municipal authorities and allowing a library to be run in the basement.

Dharmendra Yadav said his niece had become the victim of negligence by government officials.

In a post on X, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Sunday condoled the death of the three UPSC aspirants. She demanded strictest action against people responsible for the incident and asked the government to ensure precautionary measures so that such incidents do not happen in future.