A mother and her teenage son were killed, and two others injured, after a wall of an under-construction building collapsed in north Delhi’s Civil Lines area on Tuesday following heavy rain that also led to waterlogging in many parts of the Capital, the police said.
The incident occurred in Sehgal Colony, just metres away from Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena’s residence, which is close to the Lieutenant-Governor’s residence. The Delhi Fire Services received a call around 9.53 a.m. about the collapse. The deceased were identified as Meera, 40, and her 17-year-old son Ganpath, while the injured were her elder son Dashrath, 19, and her 35-year-old brother-in-law Nanhe. All four were migrant labourers from Madhya Pradesh and had been working at the construction site, the police said.
“Meera and her sons were inside a makeshift hut when a 15-foot-high wall of the under-construction residential building gave way and fell on them. Nanhe was seated nearby,” said a senior police officer. A case of causing death due to negligence has been registered at the Civil Lines police station, the police said, adding that the construction appeared to be unauthorised, and document verification is under way.
Water woes
Torrential rain from 8.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. led to widespread waterlogging and traffic disruptions. Safdarjung station recorded 63.5 mm of rain, while the Ridge area saw 129.4 mm – the highest in the city. Other areas reported varying amounts, including Lodhi Road (64.5 mm), Pragati Maidan (44.4 mm), Pusa (37.5 mm), and Ayanagar (23 mm).
Authorities had issued a red alert for parts of Delhi, which was later downgraded to a yellow alert for south-west and south-east areas, and a green alert for the rest of the city. According to Delhi Traffic Police, rain affected traffic flow at Azad Market Railway underpass, Zakhira underpass, Bhishma Pitamah Marg, and Ring Road from Sarai Kale Khan to INA Market. Waterlogging was also reported at ITO.
Published – July 30, 2025 01:15 am IST