A 65-year-old man and his 21-year-old daughter were killed when their neighbour’s five-storey building in north-east Delhi’s Seelampur collapsed on Monday night.
Both Mohammed Yaseen, a tailor, and his daughter Sarfaraz alias Moni, were inside their house in JJ Colony at that time, the police said. Three persons — Arman (33), Shahjahan Begum (33) and Samshudin — were injured in the collapse, they added.
Yaseen’s other daughter, Rani (20), alleged that they had complained to the neighbours regarding the construction of multiple floors and its dangers but they didn’t listen to them.
The residential building is owned by one Ikramuddin and his sons. Rani said she and her mother were outside the house while her two brothers had gone to the market to buy medicines for Yaseen when the incident happened.
“My father and sister were at home. Moni was serving him dinner at 10.30 p.m. when the entire building collapsed on our roof. Our house collapsed because of the debris,” she said.
The daughter said the neighbours already were constructing a fifth floor, the work for which was going on for over a month.
‘Fears came true’
“The roof of their upper floors was dangling and the walls were cracked. We had told multiple times to not construct any more floors as we were scared that it would fall...and our fears came true,” she said, adding that her family also threatened to approach higher authorities regarding the same.
She said her father had been ill for the past seven months and underwent five operations but was recovering for the last few days.
Owing to his ill health, Moni had taken up a data entry operator job in Seelampur, she said, adding: “Only the two of them had jobs. My brothers, who are studying, will now have to take up odd jobs or else who will take care of us?” she said.
Compensation sought
The family has asked compensation for the house.
The locals said the street’s walls had to be broken for bulldozer to enter it, which consumed time. The father was pulled out after six hours and the daughter after three hours, they said.
Three arrested
Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-East) Atul Thakur said Ikramuddin, who used to sell powder, his son Gufran (32), a carpenter, and Dinesh (40), a contractor, have been arrested on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and causing hurt.
