A five-storey "weak" building collapsed in northwest Delhi on Wednesday, killing seven people including four children, three weeks after the 20-year-old structure was "inspected" by a municipal team following complaints.
The Delhi government has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident, and police registered a case under IPC Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), punishable with a maximum jail term of 10 years, against the owner Dharmender, his business partner Sachin and Sachin's father Roshan Lal, who had rented out the building in Ashok Vihar. All the accused are on the run.
While police claimed that the building was inspected 20 days ago following complaints to the municipal body that it was in "dangerous" condition, North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) claimed that the building was not declared "dangerous" and it had not received any complaint against it.
There were 12 people inside the building when the tragedy struck. Eleven other occupants, among them seven kids, were outside. Four of the children were at school, while two children had accompanied their mother to her workplace and a 14-year-old girl was outside. The other four people were out on work.
Among those who were killed was Ashi, whose parents were looking forward to celebrating her third birthday on October 22. "My wife Seema and my children, Ashi and Shaurya, are gone," said a grieving Umesh, whose family was living on the second floor.
Umesh's brother too died in the incident. Laxman, 25, succumbed to injuries at LNJP Hospital late evening.
The ground floor of the building housed a shop, which was closed during the incident, while the second, third and fourth floors were occupied by tenants. The first floor had been vacated by the tenants a month ago since they felt the building was unsafe.
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Residents of Sawan Park were in a state of fear after the incident and said many of them are also living in dilapidated buildings. They said they could have been in the place of those who died in the incident.
Two families were living on the third floor. Another deceased woman, Munni, was living in one of the houses on the third floor. The second family living on that floor lost two children, Rajnesh, aged four, and Sumnesh, aged 12, the police said.
The fourth floor was occupied by a couple -- Narottam and Nisha. Nisha is critical, the police said. The injured were rushed to Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital.
Bimlesh, who was present at the hospital and lost his sons Rajnesh and Sumnesh, said, "As soon as I left home and had barely walked a few metres, I heard a loud noise and when I turned back, I saw the building collapse like a pack of cards."