A 50-year-old man was killed and three others sustained injuries after a portion of the boundary wall of Kendriya Vidyalaya located in New Delhi district collapsed on Thursday afternoon. An injured had come for the treatment to Ram Manohar lohia Hospital located a few metres away. The victims were sitting at the roadside barber and tea shops when the wall collapsed over them and were trapped under the debris. Police said the condition of the wall was poor and have registered a case.
During the incident, children were present inside the school but none of them were near the wall. According to police, a call was made around 1 pm from Robert Square Gole Market in Mandir Marg area. A police team and personnel of Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) and Delhi Fire Service (DFS) rushed to the spot and took out four persons trapped under the debris.
An eyewitness said: “Four persons were sitting at the roadside barber shop when the wall caved in on them.” A motorcycle parked by the roadside was also mangled under the debris. All the injured were rushed to the RMl Hospital where the doctors declared Dhulichand, a resident of a jhuggi cluster at Kali Bari Marg, dead on arrival. Out of the three injured, Kamla Prasad (50) and Sandeep (35) are recovering. Kanchan (35), who is a vendor, was discharged after medical attention.
Police said Kamla Prasad had come for a treatment and was waiting for his son to come when the incident took place. A case under the section 288 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down or repairing buildings) and 304A (causing death by negligence) has been registered against unknown persons at Mandir Marg police station.
A security guard, who did not wish to be named, told The Pioneer that the wall was very old. In fact, the condition was deteriorating due to roots and branches of a tree grown beside the wall. “We pointed it out several times with the school’s higher authorities but no one was paying any heed,” said the guard.