Man killed as 3 commercial buildings collapse near Delhi Metro work site

A 45-year-old man died when three old buildings collapsed near a Delhi Metro tunneling site; DMRC had warned of their unsafe condition prior to the incident.

A 45-year-old man died early on Friday when three ageing multi-storey commercial buildings collapsed near a Delhi Metro tunneling site in Azad Market, north Delhi. The incident occurred around 2am, shortly after midnight, in Pul Mithai—within the “influence zone” of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC)’s Janakpuri West–RK Ashram Marg corridor tunnelling project.

The site of the collapse in Azad Market in New Delhi on Friday. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

DMRC announced an ex-gratia compensation of ₹5 lakh for the victim’s family and said it had written to the owners of the buildings before tunnelling work started, declaring the structures unsafe and requesting evacuation.

The buildings—two four-storey structures and one with three floors—were around 30 years old and housed shops and godowns dealing in bags and canvas fabric. Though about 25 people usually worked across the three buildings—numbered 5A, 6A, and 7A—only one person was inside at the time of the collapse, police said, as the incident occurred after usual business hours (10am to 8pm). A truck parked outside was also crushed under debris.

Delhi Fire Service chief Atul Garg said the fire control room received a call about the collapse at 2am. “Three fire tenders were rushed to the spot. One person was pulled out and taken to Bara Hindu Rao Hospital, where he was declared brought dead,” Garg said.

The deceased, Manoj Sharma, had lived and worked in the building for three decades and was employed at shop number 7A, said deputy commissioner of police (North) Raja Banthia.

While the police and fire department have not yet attributed a definitive cause for the collapse, DMRC acknowledged that the buildings were within a high-risk zone. In a statement, the agency said it had issued letters to the building owners on June 12, declaring the structures unsafe and requesting evacuation.

“Letters requesting evacuation of the buildings were issued to building owners by DMRC on June 12,” DMRC said. “The buildings (shops/office) had already been identified as unsafe prior to the commencement of tunnelling work in the area and had been evacuated by DMRC.”

Other shops in the neighbourhood were not issued eviction notices, a DMRC official said, requesting anonymity.

DMRC also announced an ex-gratia compensation of ₹5 lakh for Sharma’s family.

“It was clearly communicated that these structures were in an extremely dilapidated condition and therefore, as a precautionary measure, the evacuation of the structures was necessary. Accordingly, the buildings were subsequently evacuated... A thorough investigation shall be carried out,” DMRC said.

Police have registered a case under sections 106(1) (death by negligence) and 290 (negligent conduct in construction) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Bara Hindu Rao police station. However, they have not yet named any individuals or agencies in the first information report (FIR).

When HT visited the site on Friday afternoon, the area around the debris was cordoned off with barricades and guarded by police and private security. Congestion from parked delivery vehicles left little room for pedestrian movement. Shops in the immediate vicinity were shuttered.

According to shopkeepers, a meeting with DMRC officials was held later in the day, during which business owners demanded compensation for financial losses. “The officials offered to rebuild the shops and cover business losses until normalcy is restored. Final decisions are expected on Saturday,” said Varun Kumar, who owns a shop in the market.

However, controversy erupted over claims by building owners that DMRC officials had “verbally permitted” them to resume operations after the June 12 evacuation notice. Sujat Mahajan, who identified himself as the owner of building 5A, said the shops reopened when Metro officials allegedly informed them that the tunnel boring machine was stuck and operations had halted.

“We were told the machine was stuck due to technical issues, and that it was safe to reopen until work resumed. If we had known the risk, we wouldn’t have opened our shops again,” Mahajan claimed, though he could not name the officials involved.

In a sharp rebuttal, the DMRC denied any such assurance was given. “Absolutely no such statement was made by DMRC,” the agency said in a statement. “Official letters were issued on June 12, and compensation was paid to shopkeepers after due consultation. There is no question of a verbal clearance to resume operations.”