Shabbir Qureshi, husband of Praveen.Many residents of Jilani building owe their lives to 28-year-old Parveen Qureshi, who, along with her two children, are feared dead as they could not escape the falling debris early Monday. While she was one of the firsts to realise that something was amiss and warned her neighbours to vacate the structure, it seems her insistence on leaving the building wearing her slippers cost her and the children’s lives.
The Qureshi family, comprising Parveen, her husband Shabbir Qureshi and their four children — Shahid (8), Sadiq (6), Mariyam (4) and Museb (two-and-a-half years old) — had moved into the building during the lockdown, as they could not find an alternate accommodation.
“By 11 pm, I was asleep. I don’t know how, but Parveen sensed that the building was shaking and after she saw the cracks on the wall, she woke me up around 3.15 am,” Shabbir told The Indian Express.
The couple then went about warning people on their floor about the impending danger.
The other residents of the building said Parveen was among the first ones to realise that the building was shaking. “She knocked on my door and even on the doors of other neighbours. She alerted everyone and requested that we vacate the building,” said a resident.
“Our two sons, Shahid and Sadiq, stayed behind with me while the other children, Mariyam and Museb, returned with Parveen to get their slippers. They were trying to come out when the structure collapsed. They got trapped in the debris while we happened to be in the portion that is still standing,” Shabbir said.
Shabbir and his two children sustained bruises as a part of the slab fell on them. His wife and two children are yet to be found.
The Qureshis were paying a rent of Rs 3,000 per month and had not even paid the deposit. Asked whether he was aware that the building was in a dilapidated condition, Shabbir said, “I had not seen the notices (served to the residents to vacate the premises). Otherwise, I would not have moved into this building.”
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