Mole, birthmark help mother identify 18-year-old son among Delhi building collapse victims

New Delhi: A mole on his neck and a birthmark on his leg helped a mother identify her 18-year-old son after a building housing a paying guest accommodation collapsed in southwest Delhi's Satya Niketan area, killing seven people.

Akshit, a first-year B.Com student at PGDAV College, had returned to Delhi from his hometown on September 5, just two days before the building collapsed.

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His mother, Sweta Singh Yadav, had personally visited several paying guest accommodations before selecting one for her son, hoping to find a place with basic facilities that would allow him to focus on his studies.

"I had visited five or six paying guest accommodations in the area before choosing one for my son. I wanted him to have basic facilities, including an air conditioner and a washing machine, so that he could concentrate on his studies," Sweta told PTI.

But instead of welcoming her son back to his room, Sweta arrived at AIIMS on Monday to identify his body.

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Akshit's friends initially remained hopeful after the college administration informed students that a student living in the collapsed building was missing.

His friend Yugank said they immediately rushed to the site before going to AIIMS.

"We first went to the spot and then came to AIIMS. We were just praying that it should not be Akshit," he said.

The first attempt to identify the body did not provide a definite confirmation. However, when Akshit's mother was brought in, the two distinguishing marks on his body helped establish his identity.

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"We were hoping that Akshit was safe. Later, we were asked to identify a body, but we could not. Then his mother identified him through a mole on his neck and a birthmark on his leg. That was the moment we were shattered," Yugank said.

The tragedy was compounded by the fact that Akshit had reportedly noticed a crack in the building before the collapse.

According to Yugank, Akshit had mentioned the crack to his friends earlier, but it was later covered.

The boys' PG accommodation near Delhi University's South Campus collapsed at around 1.30 pm on Sunday while repair work was being carried out. Twelve people were rescued from the debris, but seven of them died.

News of Akshit's death triggered shock in Katni, Madhya Pradesh, where his family, neighbours and friends remembered him as a young student who had secured admission to Delhi University.

Sandeep Tripathi, a neighbour of the family, said residents learnt about the collapse on Sunday evening and the family immediately began arrangements to travel to Delhi.

"Last night, at around 7 pm, the colony residents suddenly received the news that the building where Akshat lived had collapsed. His father, who was in Rajasthan, reached Delhi, while our ward councillor Dabbu Rajak took his mother and sister to Delhi during the night," he told PTI Videos.

The family reached Delhi on Monday morning and began looking for information about Akshit. They initially received no confirmation about his whereabouts.

"After reaching there at around 9 am, they searched everywhere and gathered information, but could not find anything. Later, when they went to the trauma centre, a mark on Akshit's body helped in identifying him," Tripathi said.

Following the post-mortem, the family left Delhi with Akshit's body in an ambulance at around 1.30 pm. The ambulance was expected to reach Katni between 2 am and 3 am.

Tripathi said Akshit's father, Manta Singh Yadav, worked in the construction sector, while his mother, Sweta Singh Yadav, is a homemaker.

Krishna Rajak, another friend from Katni, said Akshit had secured admission to Delhi University last year after clearing the CUET.

"He took admission there just a year ago. He had come home for Raksha Bandhan and stayed for two-three days before returning to Delhi. And now, suddenly, we got the news yesterday that the building where he was staying had collapsed," Rajak told PTI Videos.

Rajak said Akshit's mother and younger sister travelled to Delhi, while his father and cousin brother came from Rajasthan.

The family was subsequently returning to Katni with Akshit's body.

"I spoke to my father, and he said they would reach Katni around 3 am. They are travelling by ambulance. We have not received much information yet, but we were told they had left Delhi and would reach Katni between 3 am and 4 am tonight," he said.

Multiple agencies, including the Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Service, NDRF and Delhi Disaster Management Authority, continued rescue operations through the night.

The Delhi Police on Monday apprehended the building's owner, identified as Hariram Gupta, from Rajasthan's Bhiwadi area.

The incident has also renewed concerns over the safety of paying guest accommodations housing students in Delhi, particularly those living away from their hometowns.