Man killed, 2 injured in wall collapse in central Delhi

A 35-year-old e-rickshaw driver who lived in a tarpaulin tent along the boundary wall of an old religious structure in Nabi Karim, central Delhi died when a portion of the wall collapsed on him on Friday morning, fire department officials and police said. Two other men who were sitting near the wall were injured.
The incident occurred at 7am when it was raining in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR). The deceased was identified as Rehmat, 35. The religious property is an 80 to 90-year-old cemetery and dargah on Qutab Road belonging to the Waqf Board, according to police and the municipal corporation of Delhi (MCD).
“A 10-foot high and 40-foot-long portion of the boundary wall collapsed during the rains. The exact reason for the collapse is being ascertained,” said a senior police officer.
Delhi Fire Services (DFS) chief Atul Garg said that at 7am, the fire control room received a call regarding the incident near Billa Dargah in Nabi Karim. Three fire tenders were rushed to the incident along with rescue teams.
“At 7.25 am, the rescue operation in-charge informed us that two people had been rescued before the arrival of the fire tenders but one person was still trapped under the debris. While the injured people were rushed to a nearby hospital, our rescue teams removed the debris and rescued the third person, who was also rushed to the hospital,” said Garg.
The third rescued person was declared dead at the hospital, said deputy commissioner of police (central) Harsha Vardhan.
“The deceased, an e-rickshaw driver, was from Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh. He lived under a tarpaulin he had tied along the boundary wall of the dargah. The injured men were identified as Pramod (single name), 55, and Ram Ratan,38, who are both undergoing treatment,” said DCP Vardhan.
An MCD official said that the collapsed boundary wall is the property of the Waqf Board. “The wall was old, and no repair or expansion was carried out. MCD has no role, however, the labourers and machinery were deployed to remove debris from the road,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
Forty-five people have died in at least 34 rain-related incidents of drowning, electrocution and building or wall collapse in Delhi since June 28.
The Waqf Board could not be reached for comment.