Delhi airport roof collapse: Take strict action against those responsible, say victim's family

Ravinder Kumar was sleeping after finishing his night shift Friday morning when a call from Indira Gandhi International Airport Police Station turned his life upside down.

"I was sleeping when I got a call from the police station asking me to come to the Delhi airport's Terminal 1 immediately. Me and my family members had no clue about anything. When I reached there, I got to know that my father has died after a portion of the roof collapsed on his car," Ravinder told PTI.

Ramesh Kumar, a cab driver, was waiting for some passengers at the IGI T-1 early morning when a portion of a canopy covering the departure area collapsed on parked cars amid a three-hour heavy rains in the national capital. Six people were also injured in the incident, prompting authorities to suspend flight departures.

Ramesh's family have called for strict action against those responsible for the incident.

"Why did the airport authorities not check everything before the monsoon," he asked.

"We will surely file a police complaint and will fight for the justice. Police must investigate the matter properly and to arrest those who are responsible," Ravinder said.

Due to the rain there were very less passengers Friday morning and many cab drivers were waiting for passengers under the canopy, he said.

"He was about to end his duty and was waiting for some passengers who were going towards Rohini which is close to our residence," Ravinder said.

"Since 8 am, I was asked to sit at the police station at IGI Airport and now we are waiting at the Safdarjung Hospital for the autopsy. We got to know that the hospital will hand over the body on Saturday after the post-mortem.

"I lost my father and now we also have to deal with these formalities," Ravinder said with a choaked voice.

He said that he will fight for justice and file a police complaint against officials responsible for his father's death.

Ramesh is survived by his wife Asha, two sons, Ravinder (25) and Ashish (22), and two daughters, Rashi (21) and Bhawana (18) -- all of whom stay at a rented house in Vijay Vihar area of Rohini close to Sector 7. Asha works as a domestic help in Rohini.

Upset over the compensation amount offered by the government, Ravinder said that he had recently purchased the vehicle for Rs 5 lakh and had to make a down payment of Rs 1 lakh.

"I also drive a cab. We were collecting money for my younger sister Rashi's marriage. The announced compensation is very meagre for my family as we are four brothers and sisters and I had to marry them all. The government must announce at least Rs 1 crore as compensation," he added.

Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu, who visited took stock of the situation at T1, announced a compensation of Rs 20 lakh for the family.