Building Collapse in Delhi's Rohini Kills Three, Police Investigate
Three people have died after a four-storey under-construction building collapsed in north-west Delhi's Rohini Sector 16 on Wednesday. The death toll rose to three on Thursday as rescuers pulled out two more bodies from the rubble during an overnight operation.
According to police, the deceased have been identified as Ram Dua (62), husband of building owner Manju Dua; Kafe Mohammad alias Nurul (24), a worker at the site; and Ram Kishan (42), a biker who was passing by when the building collapsed.
The police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against unknown persons under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) Shashank Jaiswal said, “The rescue operation is almost over. Removal of debris is still ongoing. The cause of the collapse is under investigation.”
The building had been under construction for the past year and was nearing completion. Officials said the number of workers at the site was fewer than usual as work was almost finished. The structure comprised two Delhi Development Authority flats, each measuring 26 square metres. An official said, “The family had been staying at the site for 50 years. Over a year ago, they decided to raze the house and rebuild it from scratch. Ram Dua was supervising the construction.”
Family members of the deceased gathered outside the mortuary of Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital on Thursday, waiting for the bodies to be handed over after post-mortem. Kafe Mohammad's family travelled from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh. His mother, Safiya Begum, said her son was the eldest of five siblings. “We learned about the incident at 1.30 a.m. when the police called. We rushed to Delhi,” she said. Her husband, Shaan Mohammad, is a daily wage worker. The family said Kafe had joined work at the site only two days before. His cousin, Saddam alias Ravi (32), was rescued from the rubble on Wednesday. “At the time of the collapse, Saddam and Kafe were working on the second floor,” a relative said.
Ram Kishan's wife, Renu, struggled to hold back tears as she recounted the day. “He had lunch and left, only to never come back again,” she said. Renu said her brother-in-law misled her initially, saying that her mother-in-law had been injured in the incident. “When I reached the spot, I realised it was my husband,” she added.
Friends and relatives remembered Ram Dua as a lively individual who enjoyed making video reels. In his last Instagram reel, he said: “Ameer hun, amar nahi, mujhe bhi marna hoga (I am rich, not immortal. I will also die).”
