New Delhi, Aug 15 (PTI) Six people, including three women, were killed and five others injured after the wall and the roof of two adjacent rooms of a dargah near the Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi’s Nizamuddin collapsed on Friday, officials said.
The incident happened at Dargah Sharif Patte Shah around 3:30 pm. The dargah shares its boundary walls with the 16th century garden-tomb commissioned by Mughal emperor Humayun’s first wife Bega Begum in 1558.
A senior police officer said the two rooms, one of which was occupied by an imam while the other was a resting room, were in a deteriorating state, and due to heavy rain in the past few days, the roof and one side of a wall collapsed when around 15 people took shelter there.
The premises houses a mosque, where people frequently come to pray, a dargah and at least two rooms, officials said.
A local said people gathered on the premises to offer Friday prayers at the mosque.
There is also a mosque on the premises of the Humayun’s Tomb, and since there was a parking lot near the dargah where the incident occurred, some took shelter there because of rain. As the rain intensified, people also took shelter in the imam’s room.
A total of six people, including a 79-year-old man and three women, died in the incident, while a four-year-old boy was among the five injured, police said.
One of the deceased has been identified as Swaroop Chand (79), while the five injured have been identified as Md Shameem, Master Aryan, Gudiya, Rafat Parveen, and Rani (65), a Delhi Fire Services (DFS) officer said.
“After the collapse, 12 victims, mostly visitors, were rescued from under the debris. Nine of them were admitted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, where five died.
“A male patient was admitted to the LNJP Hospital, while a female patient was taken to the RML Hospital,” DCP (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said.
The man admitted to the LNJP Hospital died during treatment, he said.
The DVR of the mosque has been taken to the Hazarat Nizamuddin police station, and the caretakers of the mosque are being examined, police said.
Civic agencies are being informed for further investigation at their end, they said.
Various agencies, including Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Services (DFS), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and Archeological Survey of India (ASI), were involved in the rescue operation.
The victims belonged to the surrounding areas, Mustafabad and Zakir Nagar.
“It is being said that a maulavi stayed here who made ‘taveez’, and it is suspected that people used to visit the dargah to get that made,” an official told reporters.
Joint Commissioner of Police Sanjay Kumar Jain said people were visiting the dargah for Friday prayers and were sitting inside the room due to rain when the incident took place.
The rescue operation has been completed, police said, adding that 10-12 victims were rescued from under the debris after a call regarding the incident was received at 3:55 pm.
A senior DFS officer had initially said that a call regarding the collapse of a portion of a dome at the tomb was received, after which five fire tenders were rushed to the spot.
Authorities later clarified that the incident did not involve the main dome of the 16th-century monument but a smaller room within its premises.
Vishal Kumar, an eyewitness, told PTI, “I work at Humayun’s Tomb. When we heard the noise, my supervisor came running. At least 10 to 12 people were trapped under the debris. The imam is also among the injured.” Another eyewitness narrated how close she came to being buried under the debris.
“I was only two steps away from entering the room,” she said.
“It started raining, and everyone went inside to take shelter. Suddenly, the wall collapsed. I kept shouting for help but there was no one nearby. Then some people came running, and we started pulling people out,” she added.
Among those who lost their lives was Moin Uddin (32), the sole breadwinner for his family.
A father to a five-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter, Moin had moved from Bihar and worked at a garment shop to support his family.
“He had gone to offer Friday namaz,” Waseem Uddin, Moin’s landlord, said.
“He used to send money back home in Bihar to support his parents and younger brother,” he said.
Humayun’s Tomb, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a major tourist attraction, which sees the footfall of hundreds of domestic and foreign visitors daily.
“There has been no damage to the Humayun’s Tomb. A new structure was being built near the Tomb, a portion of which collapsed,” Ratish Nanda, conservation architect at the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), the organisation behind the restoration of Humayun’s Tomb, said. PTI SSJ BM SHB NSM KND BUN ARI
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.