NEW DELHI: Six of a family, including a two-year-old girl, lost their lives, and eight others were injured when a four-storey building collapsed early Saturday morning in Janta Colony, in northeast Delhi’s Seelampur. Police have registered a case of negligence and are investigating whether water seepage or poor construction contributed to the collapse.Police said the building’s three top floors had collapsed. As it stood amid a dense cluster of houses, two adjacent buildings also suffered damage. Among the dead were house owner Matloob, 50, his wife Rabia, 46, and their children Javed, 23, Abdulla, 15, and Zubia, 27, as well as Zubia’s two-year-old daughter, Fozia. All six were on first floor, which sustained maximum damage.Seepage, Poor Construction Likely Causes According to police, they received a call regarding the building collapse around 7.05 am. Rescue operations were launched immediately in coordination with the fire department and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). Seven fire tenders, around 42 firefighters, and NDRF teams with canine units were deployed for the rescue effort. However, the narrow and congested lanes of the locality significantly hampered the operation.Apart from those dead, other family members – Parvez, 32, his wife Siza, 21, their 14-month-old son Ahmad, and Parvez’s brother Naved, 19 – were on the upper floor and sustained injuries. Matloob, the building owner, ran a dry cleaning and stitching shop. The family had shifted to the building six months ago after the accommodation where they previously lived caught fire.Residents in the vicinity claimed that they felt a sudden jolt, similar to an earthquake, when the incident occurred. Upon hearing the loud noise, they rushed out of their homes to assess the situation, only to find the area shrouded in darkness. The street was covered in a haze of smoke due to the collapse.It took some time for the situation to settle down, as people struggled to comprehend the extent of the damage and the cause of the disturbance.Police added an anganwadi centre was functioning on the ground floor of the building, but it was closed at the time of the incident. Most of the debris, police noted, fell on the first floor, resulting in fatalities.Along with the building that collapsed, two adjacent buildings suffered damage. The other injured, Deepa, 56, Govind, 60, Ravi Kashyap, 27, and Jyoti, 27, belong to the same family. Their house, located opposite the collapsed building, suffered significant damage from falling debris. According to sources, the building was an illegal construction on DDA land.Police said they are investigating whether water seepage and poor construction contributed to the building’s collapse. “It has been raining for the past two days, and there may have been seepage. However, investigations are still on,” police said.A fire official said, “Water may have accumulated on the upper floors, as the impact of the collapse was less on the ground floor.”Local residents said the building was a decade old, and this was the first time a house has collapsed in the area. All listed missing persons have been rescued although search operations continue.A blame game started among agencies responsible for monitoring illegal construction in clusters. When questioned, a senior DUSIB official stated that the area was listed among Delhi govt’s jhuggi clusters but the land belonged to DDA. “Checking illegal constructions or status of buildings is the responsibility of DDA, since the land belongs to them, or MCD, considering they are responsible for implementing building bylaws. We are responsible only for providing services,” said the official. MCD, however, maintained that it had no role to play as the land did not fall in their jurisdiction. They also claimed to have written a letter to DUSIB officials on Saturday, referencing a high court order of Dec 2024. There was no response from DDA.
