Delhi Police registers case in collapse of structure at dargah near Humayun’s Tomb

The Delhi Police has registered a case after six people were killed in a wall and roof collapse of a dargah near Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi’s Nizamuddin, an official said on Saturday.

The incident happened at Dargah Sharif Patte Shah around 3:30 pm on August 15. 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 a case under section 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings), 125 (acts that endanger human life or personal safety), and 106 (causing death by negligence) has been registered against unknown people.

Of the six deceased, one has been identified as Swaroop Chand (79). The five injured are Md Shameem, Aryan, Gudiya, Rafat Parveen, and Rani (65), an official of the Delhi Fire Services said.

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The police official said two rooms of the dargah, one of which was occupied by an imam and the other was a resting room, were in a dilapidated state and heavy rain led to the roof and a wall to collapse at a time when 15 people had taken shelter there.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said, “After the collapse, 12 people, most of whom were the visitors, were rescued from under the debris. Nine of them were admitted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, where five died. A man was admitted to the LNJP Hospital, while a woman was admitted to the RML Hospital.”

Police said the man admitted to the LNJP Hospital died during treatment. Further investigation into the incident was underway, and civic agencies have been informed of the incident for further probe on their part, an official added.