‘She hasn’t been able to eat or sleep, lost 8 of family’: Grief prevails after 11 dead in Delhi building collapse

“Reshma’s husband has fractured his hip, and we don’t know whether he’ll be paralysed or if he’ll be able to go back to work. Her two children are in the hospital, injured… what do they have to look forward to now?” said Roshana, Reshma’s cousin, as she stood near the house of the victim’s mother.

A few metres away, under a makeshift tent, sat Gulshan, who lost eight of her family in the mishap. She and her two sisters did not live in the building owned by her father Tehsin.

Among those who were on the first floor when the tragedy struck, only her brother Chand survived. Tehsin (60) and seven other family members — son Nazeem (30), daughter-in-law Shahina (28), grandchildren Anas (6), Afreen (4) and Afan (2), younger daughter-in-law Chandni (23), and another relative Ishaq (75) — were killed.

Tears rolled down Gulshan’s face as she sat in front of a group of wailing women. “Poor thing hasn’t been able to eat or sleep. She lost her whole family,” said her friend.

Police officers believe it is an open-and-shut case since the building’s owner died in the collapse. However, officers said they’re looking into two possible angles that caused the collapse.

Authorities believe one of the probable causes could have been that a wall on the ground floor was damaged during renovation.

“… it has been found in the investigation… that the owner of the above house and others committed a negligent act by removing the wall between the shops on the ground floor… and constructing the house not as per the prescribed standards…,” the FIR states.

The FIR has been registered under BNS sections 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings), 106 (causing death by negligence), and 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others).