Two workers die after wall of Crime Branch office collapses in Delhi

With several departments of the Delhi Police involved, senior officers from Delhi Police’s Traffic and Central district are in a tussle over whose negligence led to the two deaths. While a case has been registered on the complaint of a sub-inspector and it states that three men were found injured after a wall collapse at the Crime Branch office, the sequence of events hasn’t been mentioned.

Initial investigation has revealed that a traffic inspector in the Central Range was using a crane to move vehicles parked on the footpath and clear the route for VVIP movement on Friday. “It was during this time that one of the cars fell on the boundary wall of the Crime Branch office and it collapsed. The three workers, who were standing on the other side, came under the rubble.” said an officer.

Tribhuvan and Baldev were rushed to Lok Nayak after the incident but doctors declared them dead on arrival. They had suffered severe head injuries leading to their death.

The Indian Express visited the spot and found an 8-foot wall had collapsed; the staircase outside the Crime Branch office and the ground near it was also dug up. Officers said DPHC had hired the labourers to fix the steps and do other construction work.

Sikander Singh, DCP (DPHC), said a contractor had brought the labourers. “It is an unfortunate incident. The men were standing near the wall when it collapsed and were not working then. We have asked the contractor to submit a report of the incident,” he said.

Additional DCP Sachin Sharma from Central district, who visited the spot to conduct an enquiry, refused to comment.

Soon after the wall collapsed, Additional CP (Traffic) Chinmoy Biswal and DCP (Traffic Central) Vikram Singh also visited the spot. DCP Vikram Singh, said: “We visited the spot… Inside the premises, construction and digging activities were going on which is being investigated by officers.”

Sanjay Sain, DCP (Central), said, “We have registered a case and collected CCTVs around the area. The matter will be investigated as per legal procedure.”

Meanwhile, at Lok Nayak Hospital, families of the labourers said they were left in the lurch with no answers from officials.

Tribhuvan’s father, Hari Ram, said he had received a call late on Friday about the incident. “He was the sole breadwinner of the family and has left three sons behind. What will we do? We don’t know what happened. We were told a wall collapsed on him but he was working at some police station. How could this happen?” he said.