Delhi building collapse: Death toll rises to four in New Seemapuri, eight injured

The death toll in the building collapse in New Seemapuri in north-east Delhi rose to four on Thursday, police said. Eight people have been admitted to hospital for treatment. 

The building collapsed near the Idgah in Machhli Mandi on Wednesday afternoon, about a month after a building collapse in Satya Niketan killed seven people and injured five others. 

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Rajendra Prasad Meena said rescue operations were completed on Thursday. 

“A total of four persons have died in the incident, including a child aged around three or four. We have also recovered the remains of a 12-year-old girl. The identities of the children are yet to be established. The death toll may rise as more body parts have been recovered and are yet to be identified,” Mr. Meena said. 

Three of the deceased were identified as Gulafsa (21), Haza Bibi (56) and Nusra (33). 

“The identification of body parts recovered from the debris is pending and will be established through DNA examination,” the officer said. 

The police have registered a FIR on the basis of a daily diary entry on charges of negligence and causing death by negligence. 

The police said efforts are under way to arrest the owners of the building. Family members of the building owner are also among the injured, officers said. 

“So far, our focus has been on the rescue operation. We are now intensifying the investigation and trying to arrest the owner responsible for the collapse,” Mr. Meena said. 

Govt.’s ‘failure’: AAP 

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday criticised the Delhi government over the incident, terming it a “failure” of the government. 

An AAP delegation led by the party‘s Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj visited the injured at the hospital and demanded strict action against those responsible. 

Mr. Bharadwaj alleged that the rescue operation had not been completed even after 24 hours and criticised Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, her Ministers and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs for not visiting the victims. 

“Neither any minister nor the Chief Minister nor the Mayor has visited the site. This shows that these people have no hearts, only stones,” Mr. Bharadwaj said. 

He alleged that BJP leaders had visited the site of the Satya Niketan building collapse solely to gain political mileage during the Delhi University Students’ Union elections. “Now that the elections are over, all their compassion and shame have also disappeared,” he said. 

Mr. Bharadwaj also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for remaining silent over the incident, alleging that while he often comments on accidents elsewhere in the world, he had not spoken about the collapse in the national capital. 

He claimed that anger against the BJP is growing among young people, leading to protests against the government at various places. 

The Delhi BJP did not respond to the allegations.