The illegally constructed third floor of a building in north Delhi’s Azad Market that collapsed on Wednesday, killing 49-year-old assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Zakir Hussain, had cracks in the roof and crumbled soon after the officer climbed onto it, said constable Debu Singh, who survived the mishap and is recuperating at home.
Constable Singh said that he had asked ASI Hussain to come down immediately after he spotted the cracks in the roof while climbing the stairs to take pictures and videos of the illegal construction work that was going on in the nearly 100-year-old building.
“I was barely two-three metres behind ASI Hussain on the staircase when I saw the cracks. I screamed and asked him to come down, but the floor collapsed. Before falling on the second floor along with the debris, I saw Hussain sir try to get a grip on the wall and fall outside the building,” said constable Singh, adding that four-five persons were working on the other end of the floor’s terrace when it caved in.
Constable Singh, however, said that he was unaware of what happened to the people working on the terrace. On the day of the mishap, a police officer who visited the site said on condition of anonymity that according to locals, one more injured person had come out of the building.
“But neither was that person identified nor was anyone admitted to the nearby government or private hospitals,” said the officer, adding that despite his injuries, the constable rushed outside the building and with locals’ help rushed ASI Hussain to Aruna Asaf Ali hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
According to Singh, someone informed ASI Hussain about the illegal construction in the building on Tuesday evening. Around 8.30pm, Hussain asked Singh to accompany him to the building the next morning. As part of the Independence Day security audit drive, the duo also planned to verify the antecedents of the building’s tenants.
“We first conducted the verification process for five-six labourers working in a toy factory who live on the first floor. A few minutes later, Hussain sir asked me to accompany him to the third-floor terrace where illegal construction was going on. As he reached the terrace, the floor collapsed, and he fell off the building. There were construction materials in large quantity on the terrace which probably led to the collapse,” he said.
Meanwhile, the police said they have identified the owner of the portion of the building that collapsed and the contractor who was constructing the floor. “We are verifying the documents submitted by the original owner. Our probe is on,” the deputy commissioner of police (north) Monika Bhardwaj said.
An officer associated with the probe said, “We will send separate notices to the owner and the contractor asking them to join the probe and explain why and with whose permission they were carrying out the construction.”
The North Delhi Municipal Corporation is also probing how and why the illegal construction was taking place. “The inquiry is still in progress,” an official of North MCD said, requesting anonymity.
