Saket building collapse: One killed, eight rescued

Six people — five doctors and a canteen owner — died when a five-storey building collapsed and fell on an adjacent canteen in Mehrauli’s Saidulajab area on Saturday (May 30, 2026) evening. The residents alleged that the building was uninhabitable and illegal construction was going on in it, even though the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had issued a notice to the owner based on the complaint.

The Delhi government on Sunday (May 31) suspended two MCD engineers while the police registered a case of negligence.

After the collapse, at least 13 persons, mostly doctors or NEET-PG and FMGE aspirants, were rescued from the debris. “The rescued were immediately taken to AIIMS Trauma Center and Safdarjung Hospital for treatment. While five were declared brought dead, five were admitted for treatment. Three were discharged after treatment,” said a senior police official.

The police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not murder), 290 (negligent act in construction of buildings) and 125 (a) (negligent act endangering human life). “An FIR has been registered under the General Gazette. Investigation into the matter is on,” said Anant Mittal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (South).

He said at least 200 police officers were deployed at the scene. “The first JCB (earth-moving machine) arrived immediately after the incident was reported by Mehrauli police station officials. DFS, NDRF, DDMA and ambulances were also called immediately and rescue and relief work started immediately,” Mr. Mittal said.

Exam aspirants

The deceased were Kapil Lohaniya, Alok Verma, Ravi Singh, Nalin Roy, Ekta Chaudhary and Parvati Ojha. At least three of them were migrants and were preparing for various government exams in Delhi.

Their families rushed to the AIIMS trauma center to collect the bodies. Among the six dead were five doctors and one canteen owner where they had food when the building collapsed and fell on the canteen.

The area is home to many aspirants preparing for government exams and has several coaching centers. The building that collapsed housed, among other things, a corporate office and a library.

Nalin Roy (24) went to the canteen adjacent to the building for the first time. His friends Ashutosh and Aditya stood outside while he went upstairs to the reception to place the order. At that moment, the building collapsed and he was crushed under it. Ashutosh’s thigh was broken and Aditya was injured on both legs when a pillar fell on him. “We had planned to celebrate Nalin’s birthday, which falls on June 2. Instead, we will now attend his last rites,” said Anand Kumar, Nalin’s friend.

An MIT-Muzaffarpur graduate, Roy was preparing to clear GATE and enrolled at a coaching center in Saidulajab. Moved to Delhi in December 2025.

Parvati Ojha (39) ran ‘Aunty’s canteen’ in Saidulajab, right next to the building that collapsed. Her family members said she felt the building fall and immediately ordered the doctors and workers to flee. “I was there in the canteen with other workers. Parvati saw the building falling and raised the alarm. She ordered everyone to run outside. She almost got out but went back inside to see if anyone was left when suddenly a concrete beam fell on her head,” her nephew said.

“There were at least 14 people in the canteen when the building fell. There could have been several more people in the building itself,” he added.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta visited the site on Sunday morning after which two MCD engineers — Aman Jain (junior Engineer) and Sudesh Singh Chouhan (Assistant Engineer) — from South zone were suspended.

Alok Verma, 25, an IIT-Allahabad graduate, came to Delhi in February this year hoping to prepare for higher studies and find a well-paying job. “Alok was a very skilled boy. His father works as a postal employee in Sitapur and his mother is a housewife. He spent a year preparing for higher studies in Allahabad and then moved to Delhi. He wanted to work for Google,” said Rajkishor Verma, his uncle.

On Sunday evening, his parents and family members were yet to arrive to collect his body. “Travel will not be easy and it has nothing to do with the 400 km distance between Delhi and Sitapur,” Mr Verma said.

Parveen Kumar was red-eyed when he talked about his younger sister Ekta Chaudhary, 23, an FMGE (Foreign Medical Examination) aspirant and medical graduate from Kyrgyzstan. “She wanted to study in India, but she didn’t get the opportunity, so she had to study medicine abroad. But she wanted to work specifically in India,” he said. Coming from a farming family in Alwar, Rajasthan, she aspired to become a successful doctor and take care of her family.

The families question the legality of the construction

According to the resident, the building was at least 20 years old. “Earlier it was just three floors. Two more floors were added this year and construction of the sixth floor was underway,” said Abdul Sakir, who registered a complaint with the MCD about the illegal construction in March. “But no action was taken,” he said.

Anand Kumar, a resident of Saidulajab for the last one year, said the building already had up to five floors while another was under construction. “It was known among the locals that the building was uninhabitable and the MCD had also issued a notice against the owner. Now we are hearing about how the MCD presented before the High Court that the construction had been stopped, which was not true. We saw that the construction was going on even after that,” he said.

He added that the suspension of the two MCD engineers was a mere formality. “The police have also registered a case, but I don’t see any real action. As far as we know, that too will be buried in the files,” he said.

“It is not just about the construction on the fifth floor. It is also about the quality of the materials used,” said Angad Singh Saini, a former Congress MLA from Punjab who has employed members of the Parvati family for the past 35 years. As her family members were in a dismal condition, Mr. Saini was busy completing the formalities. “It clearly shows the substandard quality of material used in the construction of the building. The quality of iron, cement and most importantly the pre-construction planning was flawed at the very beginning,” he said.

Published – 31 May 2026 11:00 AM IST