Ceiling & wall of dargah adjacent to Humayun’s Tomb collapses, 6 dead
Five fire tenders were rushed to the spot after a call regarding the incident came in at 3.50 pm, a DFS official said
3 min read
Personnel from the DFS, NDRF, and the district police were involved in the operation. Rescuers are continuing to look through the debris to see if more people are trapped. (Credit: Tashi Tobgyal)Six persons were killed and four injured after the ceiling and wall of a two-room structure, a part of the Dargah Sharif Patte Shah located adjacent to the Humayun’s Tomb complex, collapsed in Southeast Delhi’s Nizamuddin on Friday evening.
Officials at AIIMS, where most of the victims were taken, confirmed the number of deaths.
The police identified the deceased as Moinuddin, Anita Saini, Swaroop Chand, Meena Arora, Monu Arora and Arif. The injured — Mohammad Shameem, Aryan, Gudiya, and Rafat Parveen — have been admitted to AIIMS Trauma Centre, Lok Nayak Hospital and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.
The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said five fire tenders were rushed to the spot after it received a call regarding the incident at 3.50 pm. At least 12 people were pulled out from the debris, an officer said.
DCP (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said that while nine persons were taken to AIIMS, one each was rushed to Lok Nayak Hospital and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. One woman was found unharmed under the debris, he added. “The ceiling and a wall in the two rooms collapsed due to heavy rain… The DVR (digital video recorder) of the mosque has been seized. The caretakers of the mosque are being examined,” said the DCP.
Multiple rescue agencies, including the DFS, Delhi Police, National Disaster Response Force and Delhi Disaster Management Authority, were involved in the rescue operation. The structure, officials said, was located opposite the New Horizon School.
Ratish Nanda, project director at Aga Khan Trust for Culture — involved in the restoration of the Mughal-era Humayun Tomb — said that the two-storey dargah was attached to the boundary wall of the tomb complex. “Some of the debris fell inside the complex but the premises incurred no damage,” he added.
Joint Commissioner of Police Sanjay Kumar Jain told mediapersons that people were visiting the dargah for Friday prayers and were sitting inside a room due to rain when the incident took place.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Friday said the Humayun’s Tomb, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is in “perfect condition”.
“The unfortunate incident, in the Patte Shah Dargah at Nizamuddin area of Delhi is deeply condoled. The Archaeological Survey of India regrets the unfortunate incident at an unprotected structure abutting the WH (world heritage) monument of the Humayun’s Tomb but due to the nearness to the site could reach out as aides to those trapped in the accident,” the ASI posted on X.
Historian Rana Safvi writes in In Search of the Divine, “Patte Shah ki Dargah near Humayun’s tomb is the shrine of a contemporary of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. Hazrat Shamsuddin Utawala’s dargah is called Patte Shah because of an ancient tree growing in the shape of the Arabic letters that spell Mohammad, the Prophet’s name. It is very common for supplicants to go there and eat a few leaves of the tree with sugar candy.”
She further said that the word ‘Utawala’ was added to the saint’s name because people who used to come to him had their wishes fulfilled in no time.
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