Delhi woman breaks her nose, suffers injuries as ceiling of government flat falls on her

Beena Chadha, who is posted at a hospital in east Delhi’s Patparganj as nursing in-charge, broke her nose and suffered serious injuries on her face in the incident on August 15. She had to undergo two surgeries for her injuries.

The Delhi Police have booked unnamed municipal officials on a complaint of a 55-year-old woman who suffered grievous injuries after portions of the ceiling of her official accommodation in south Delhi’s Nehru Nagar fell on her on August 15.

The living room in the Nehru Nagar government flat. (Handout)

Beena Chadha, who is posted at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Chest hospital in east Delhi’s Patparganj as nursing in-charge, broke her nose and suffered serious injuries on her face. The incident happened when she was watching TV, sitting on the couch in her living room.

Police registered a case under sections 288 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down or repairing buildings) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) at the Lajpat Nagar police station on Wednesday, nearly three weeks after the incident.

Chadha blamed South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) officials for her injuries. She said she had been filing complaints regarding the dilapidated ceiling of their flat for almost a month.

“No action was taken on my complaints. Just a day before the incident, I had called the junior engineer concerned but my requests fell on deaf ears and nothing was done,” said Chadha, who had to undergo two plastic surgeries.

Beena Chadha blamed South Delhi Municipal Corporation officials for her injuries and said she had been filing complaints regarding the dilapidated ceiling of their flat for almost a month.

A senior SDMC health department official said on the condition of anonymity, “The department has now declared the Nehru Nagar government quarters dangerous and asked occupants to vacate them. The allegations of the woman are being probed.”

Chaddha has been living with her husband and 25-year-old daughter at a ground-floor flat in the Chest Clinic and TB Hospital government quarters in Nehru Nagar since 2013.

On August 15, she was watching television with her daughter when a portion of the ceiling fell. Her daughter escaped unhurt. “I remained in the intensive care unit of a government hospital for five days. Doctors say my wounds will take five to six months to heal,” she said, alleging no repair work was done in the building since 2013.