Wall collapse near Humayun’s tomb: CCTV footage of nearby areas seized

On Friday, the roof and walls of two rooms at Patte Shah Dargah collapsed allegedly due to heavy rains and waterlogging, trapping 11 people in debris.

Delhi Police officers said they have seized digital video recording systems from the neighbourhood of Patte Shah dargah near Humayun’s Tomb in southeast Delhi where seven people were killed after a wall collapse on Friday. The DVR will help to check multiple CCTV footage and ascertain the sequence of events.

The site where the roof collapsed on Friday, killing seven people. (Sonu Mehta/HT Photo)

They are also checking if the weak structure of the dargah and absence of renovation led to the collapse.

On Friday, the roof and walls of two rooms at Patte Shah Dargah collapsed allegedly due to heavy rains and waterlogging in the area, trapping 11 people in debris. On Saturday, police said the incident left seven people dead. The deceased were identified as Swaroop Chand, 79; Mohammad Moin, 37; Anita Saini, 50; Mohammad Arif, Mohammad Abid, Meena Arora and her daughter Monushca.

Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (southeast) Hemant Tiwari said an FIR under sections 290 (negligent act during demolition), 125 (endangering life due to negligent act) and 106 (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was filed on Saturday against unidentified persons.

“We have also taken statements of eye witnesses and locals. Some alleged that the dargah rooms were in bad shape as there had been no renovation work done for the last 40-50 years. The walls had cracks while the base of the structure was weak due to waterlogging and soil eroding,” an officer part of the investigation said.

While the shrine at the Patte Shah dargah is reported to be centuries old, police said the rooms of the dargah were built around 50-60 years back.

“The exact date is not known. We are also trying to access records from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The caretaker of the dargah and the Imam’s family are already being questioned. We are verifying all allegations...” added the investigator.

While MCD officials on Friday told HT that the dargah comes under ASI, the ASI had denied the claim.

Mother-daughter among deceased had sought shelter in rain

Among the seven deceased are 56-year-old Meena Arora and her 23-year-old daughter Monushca Arora. The family lives in Vasant Kunj area. Meena is survived by two daughters and a son.

Saurabh Khanna, Meena’s son-in-law, said, “For the past few months, she has been visiting the gurudwara in Nizamuddin every Friday. It was Independence Day and Monushca was also free so they went together. They did not have a car or anything so they went inside the dargah to seek shelter as heavy rain started. We did not know this would happen. Everyone is in shock... Monushca was going to turn 24 next month.”