Building collapse near Azad Market, DMRC announces ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for next of kin of deceased

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Friday announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased who died after a building collapsed near Pul Mithai in North Delhi’s Lohia Chowk area.

The building collapsed in the early hours of Friday.

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The deceased has been identified as Manoj Sharma, also known as Pappu, aged 45. He was an employee at shop number 7A, owned by Gulshan Mahajan, and had been working there for the past 30 years.

The collapsed building, located at Tokri Walan in Pul Mithai near Bara Hindu Rao, had three shops on the ground floor and godowns on the first floor. The shops were part of the Azad Market area and dealt in bags and canvas cloth.

Police have also registered an FIR under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and an investigation is underway to find out the cause of the collapse.

A DMRC official said, “Three buildings (shops/office) at the Mithaipul area in Sadar Bazaar have collapsed during the intervening night of Thursday and Friday (around 2 am).”

This location falls within the influence zone of the ongoing tunneling works being carried out for the Janakpuri West – RK Ashram Marg corridor of the Delhi Metro.

The buildings had already been identified as unsafe before the commencement of tunneling work in the area and had been evacuated by the DMRC.

“It is pertinent to mention that letters requesting evacuation of the buildings had been issued to the building owners by the DMRC on 12th June 2025. It was clearly communicated that these structures were in an extremely dilapidated condition and, therefore, as a precautionary measure, the evacuation of the structures was necessary. Accordingly, the buildings were subsequently evacuated,” the DMRC official said.

Additionally, necessary subsoil grouting and external supports were provided at the site to stabilise the structures and mitigate any risk due to tunneling.

Debris removal operations were immediately started in close coordination with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Delhi Police. The area has been properly barricaded as well.

“However, unfortunately, one casualty occurred during this operation. An ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh has been announced by the DMRC for the next of kin of the deceased,” the DMRC official said.

“Tunelling work is being executed by M/s AFCONS. A thorough investigation will be carried out by DMRC regarding this incident,” the official added.