New Delhi: Family members and friends of Akshat Singh Yadav, a second-year student of Delhi University’s PGDAV College, who died in the Satya Niketan building collapse on Monday, said they had spent anxious hours trying to contact him before learning that his body had been found.
“We weren’t able to contact him. We kept calling him, but his phone wasn’t connecting. We were also very anxious for a long time. Around 3 to 3:30 a.m., we received information that he had been found. So, early this morning, we came here and identified him. He was also preparing for the UPSC,” a family member told reporters.
Akshat’s maternal grandfather said the family rushed to Satya Niketan as soon as they learned about the incident.
“As soon as we came to know about the incident, we reached Satya Niketan. When we arrived, we saw that the entire building had collapsed. He used to stay on the first floor. It has been about a year since he came here to stay in a PG,” he said.
“Yes, they have taken his body away. We were unable to contact him. We kept calling his phone, but we could not get through. We were very worried. We were there until around 2 a.m. We came to know around 3 to 3:30 a.m. that he had been found. So, we came here early in the morning,” he added.
He said the family had been deeply worried throughout the night as they waited for information about Akshat.
Akshat’s friend Yugank Goyal said he learned about the incident on Sunday afternoon and later came to know that a student from their college was among those trapped inside the collapsed building.
“I got to know about this incident yesterday around 1:30 p.m. Today, we came here for Akshat Singh Yadav. He is a student from our college. I do not know Akshat personally. When the accident happened, I was near our college area. We went to the site to see what had happened and how it happened,” he said.
“At that time, our college administration informed us that a student from our college was also trapped there. They asked us to let them know if we got any news about him. That is how the administration informed us about the incident,” he added.
Goyal said that students later reached AIIMS Hospital after being informed that the victims of the incident were being brought there.
“Today, we came to AIIMS Hospital because we were told that all the victims from the accident were being brought here. When we arrived here, we learned that, unfortunately, he was no more. His mother identified and confirmed his body, and his MLC number also matched,” he said.
Another friend, Ayushman Sharma, said students had reached the site after receiving information from their college administration.
“We came on behalf of our college as students after learning that one of our college students was here. His name is Akshat Singh Yadav. I don’t know the exact time, but when we were standing at Satya Square in Satya Niketan, we received a message from the college administration saying that a student from our college lived in that same PG,” Sharma said.
Another college student said Akshat’s death had come as a shock to the student community.
“Yesterday, we came to know that a student from our college, Akshat Yadav, was in the PG that collapsed. Last night, a message was circulating in our group saying that he was fine. But this morning, we found out that he is no more,” the student said.
Meanwhile, S.K. Sharma, a neighbour of the accused building owner Hariram Bansal, said Bansal lives in Sector 23 and owns a shop in the local market.
“I am a resident of Sector 23. Bansal also lives in our area. He has a shop in the market. I do not know him personally, but I do visit his shop and have purchased hardware items from him several times. His son also sits at the shop,” Sharma said.
“He owns three to four other houses here. I was not aware of yesterday’s incident. I had seen him here two or three days ago. He and his wife live here. He owns three to four properties in this area,” he added.
(IANS)
