Akshat Yadav (18)A mole on his neck and a mark left by a surgery on his right leg helped Akshat’s mother Sweta identify his body at AIIMS Monday.Akshat dreamt of becoming an IAS officer and making his parents proud. However, the dream was crushed beneath the rubble of the collapsed Satya Niketan building when the body of the second-year BCom (Hons) student at PGDAV College was pulled out at 7 am Monday.Akshat had been living in Delhi for the past two years and was a boarder at the PG accommodation for nearly a year. He lived on the first floor of the building and paid Rs 18,000 a month as rent. He returned to the city from his hometown in MP just two days before the incident after celebrating Raksha Bandhan.His cousin, Deepankar, who helped him find the accommodation, said, “I told Akshat to shift to Mayur Vihar, but he did not. He told me that it was only a matter of one year and that it would easily pass,” Deepankar said.Akshat’s family rushed to the spot after learning about the collapse. Just hours before the tragedy, on Sunday morning, Akshat had spoken to his parents over a video call. “Everything was fine,” Deepankar said.Hours later, the family was desperately searching for him in the rubble. Akshat’s wallet was found at the spot, helping the family establish that he was among those trapped in the debris. His body was later identified at AIIMS mortuary.His neighbour, Vijay Kumar Rajak, said Akshat was good at studies. “He mostly kept to himself and focused on his studies,” Rajak said.At AIIMS, Akshat’s younger sister wept inconsolably as the family struggled to come to terms with the loss of a young man whose ambitions and dreams were cut short.Yuvraj Soni (20)For Yuvraj’s relatives, the tragedy came as a double blow. Not only did they lose him, but his father, Kanhaiya, had to be hospitalised after being told that his son was critical. The family has not yet told Kanhiaya, who runs a medical store in Chhattisgarh, that Yuvraj is no more, fearing that the news is likely to worsen his condition.Yuvraj was speaking to his friend Gunjan on the phone when the building collapsed. The call suddenly disconnected, and Gunjan received no response despite repeatedly trying to contact him.A native of Chhattisgarh, Yuvraj was a BCom (Hons) student at Motilal Nehru College and was known to his friends and acquaintances as quiet and studious. He shifted to the fourth floor of the PG accommodation just a week before tragedy struck Sunday, his cousin said.On receiving information about the building collapse, Yuvraj’s relatives rushed to Delhi and waited anxiously as rescue teams cleared the debris. Through the long hours of the search, they continued to hope that Yuvraj would survive. Their hope, however, was dashed when his body was pulled out.Arpit Jaj (18)Arpit’s family has decided to donate his corneas, hoping that even in death, he could help someone else regain their sight.The second-year BCom student, who aspired to become a chartered accountant, returned to his PG at 8am Sunday after celebrating Raksha Bandhan and Janmashtami with his family in MP’s Dewas, his friend Mayank said. Just a few hours later, the building turned into a death trap.Initially, Arpit’s family believed he was asleep when his mother’s calls went unanswered. Later, the family was informed about the incident and rushed to the spot, but it was all over by then. His body was identified at 6 pm.Arpit’s mother was seen weeping inconsolably at AIIMS, repeatedly asking why no one stopped him from returning to Delhi.Pawan Kumar (17)A last-minute change in plans proved fatal for this native of UP’s Auraiya. Pawan had planned to visit his cousin Saturday and stay there till Sunday, but decided against. Hours later, he was trapped in the collapsed building.Pawan, who has four sister, was pursuing computer science with mathematics at Motilal Nehru College. His father is a retired veterinary doctor. His cousin, Dhiraj, said the PG was in a dilapidated condition.As soon as Pawan’s relatives heard about the collapse, they rushed to the spot and waited anxiously as rescue teams searched through the rubble. For several hours, they held onto the hope that he had survived as people at the site told them that some trapped residents had been rescued. “Many people said Pawan had been rescued and he was alive,” Dhiraj said.The family continued waiting for confirmation, clinging to every piece of information coming from the rescue site. Just after 10pm, their hopes were dashed when they learnt that Pawan had died. At the hospital, his father looked devastated, struggling to come to terms with the catastrophic loss.
