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Six people — five doctors and a canteen owner — died as a five-storeyed building collapsed and fell on a canteen adjacent to it in Saidulajab area of Mehrauli here on Saturday evening. Residents alleged that the building was uninhabitable and illegal construction on it was going on despite the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) issuing notice to the owner based on a complaint.
The Delhi government suspended two MCD engineers on Sunday while the police registered a case of negligence.
After the collapse, at least 13 persons were rescued from the rubble, most of them doctors or NEET-PG and FMGE aspirants. “Those rescued were taken immediately to AIIMS trauma centre and Safdarjung hospital for treatment. While five were declared brought dead, five were admitted for treatment. Three were discharged after treatment,” said a senior police official.
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The police registered a First Information Report (FIR) under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 290 (negligent conduct regarding construction of buildings) and 125 (a) (negligent act endangering human life). “The FIR has been registered based on the General Diary. The investigation is on in the matter,” said Anant Mittal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (South).
He said at least 200 police personnel had been deployed at the site. “The first JCB (earthmover) arrived immediately after the incident was reported by the beat staff of the Mehrauli police station. The DFS, NDRF, DDMA and ambulances were also called immediately and the rescue and relief work was initiated urgently,” Mr. Mittal said.
Exam aspirants
The deceased were Kapil Lohaniya, Alok Verma, Ravi Singh, Nalin Roy, Ekta Chaudhary, and Parvati Ojha. At least three of these were migrants and were preparing for various government exams in Delhi.
Their families rushed to AIIMS trauma centre to collect the bodies. Among the six deceased, five were doctors and one was the owner of the canteen where they were having food when the building collapsed and fell on the canteen.
The area houses many aspirants who prepare for government exams and has multiple coaching centres. The building that collapsed had a corporate office and a library among other facilities.
Nalin Roy (24) had gone to the canteen adjacent to the building for the first time. His friends Ashutosh and Aditya were standing outside while he went up to the reception to place an order. Just then, the building collapsed and he was crushed under it. Ashutosh’s thigh was fractured and Aditya was injured in both the legs as a pillar fell on him. “We were planning to celebrate Nalin’s birthday which falls on June 2. Instead, we will now be attending his last rites,” said Anand Kumar, Nalin’s friend.
A graduate from MIT-Muzaffarpur, Roy was preparing to clear GATE and had enrolled in a coaching centre in Saidulajab. He had moved to Delhi in December 2025.
Parvati Ojha (39) ran ‘Aunty canteen’ in Saidulajab, right next to the building that collapsed. Her family members said that she had sensed the building falling and immediately directed the doctors and workers to run away. “I was there at the canteen with other workers. Parvati saw the building falling and raised an alarm. She directed everyone to run outside. She had almost stepped out but went back inside to see if anyone was left when suddenly a beam of concrete fell on her head,” said her nephew.
“There were at least 14 persons inside the canteen when the building fell. The building itself might have had a few more people,” he added.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta visited the site on Sunday morning following which two MCD engineers — Aman Jain (Junior Engineer) and Sudesh Singh Chouhan (Assistant Engineer) — from the South zone were suspended.
Alok Verma, 25, an IIT-Allahabad graduate, came to Delhi in February this year, hoping to prepare for higher studies and find a well-paying job. “Alok was a very skilled boy. His father works as a post office employee in Sitapur and mother is a housewife. He prepared for higher studies in Allahabad for a year and then moved to Delhi. He aspired to work for Google,” said Rajkishor Verma, his uncle.
On Sunday evening, his parents and family members were yet to arrive to collect his body. “The travel will not be easy, and it has got nothing to do with the 400-km distance between Delhi and Sitapur,” Mr. Verma said.
Parveen Kumar’s eyes were red when he talked about his younger sister Ekta Chaudhary, 23, an FMGE (foreign medical graduate examination) aspirant and a medical graduate from Kyrgyzstan. “She wanted to study in India but did not get the opportunity so had to do her medical degree abroad. But she wanted to work specifically in India,” he said. Coming from a family of farmers in Alwar, Rajasthan, she aspired to become a successful doctor and take care of her family.
Families question the legality of the building
According to a resident, the building was at least 20 years old. “Earlier, there were only three floors. This year, two more floors were added and the construction of the sixth floor was going on,” said Abdul Sakir, who had registered a complaint with the MCD in March about the illegal construction. “But no action was taken,” he said.
Anand Kumar, a resident of Saidulajab for the past one year, said the building already had up to five floors while another was being constructed. “It was known among the locals that the building was uninhabitable and the MCD had also issued notices against the owner. Now, we hear about how the MCD had presented in the High Court that the construction had been stopped, which was not true. We saw construction taking place even after that,” he said.
He added that the suspension of two MCD engineers was a mere formality. “The police have also registered a case but I don’t see any real action taking place. For all we know, this too will be buried in the files,” he said.
“It is not just about the construction on the fifth floor. It is also the quality of materials used,” said Angad Singh Saini, a former Congress MLA from Punjab, who had employed Parvati’s family members for the past 35 years. As her family members were in an inconsolable condition, Mr. Saini was busy performing the formalities. “It clearly shows the substandard quality of material used in the construction of the building. The quality of iron, cement and most importantly, planning before construction was faulty right at the outset,” he said.
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