Two killed in Seelampur building collapse; 3 arrested

A father-daughter duo was killed and three people were injured after an under-construction building collapsed in Seelampur area, following which three people were arrested, police said on Tuesday.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he will order an inquiry into the matter.

Police received information regarding the incident at 11.32 pm on Monday. During the rescue operation, five people were taken out of the debris and rushed to a hospital, where Moni Sarfaraz (21) and her 65-year-old father Mohammad Yaseen, residents of K-Block Seelampur, were declared brought dead, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North East) Atul Kumar Thakur said.

Six fire tenders were rushed to the spot, the Fire Department said.

The National Disaster Response Force and District Disaster Management Authority also joined in the rescue operation.

The impact of the collapse was such that the adjacent houses were destroyed.

While two of the injured, Arman (33) and Sahajan Begam (33), are undergoing treatment at the GTB Hospital, another person, identified as Samshudin (45), was discharged after first-aid.

Three men, including the owners of the building, were arrested for alleged negligence. They have been identified as Ikramuddin (60), his son Gufran (32), and Dinesh (40), a contractor, a senior police officer said.

"I was standing outside my house and my sister Moni (Hina) and my father Yaseen, along with other members, were inside. When the neighbouring building collapsed, it fell on our house and both of them got trapped. She was the sole-breadwinner of the family after my father fell sick couple of months ago," Danish, brother of the deceased, said.

Kejriwal said he will ensure strict that action is taken against errant officers who allowed the construction of the building.

"It is a very serious matter. There should be a strict action against those officers during whose tenure this building was allowed to construct. I will get the inquiry done into the incident and a strict action will be taken against officers," he told reporters.