Sheikh Abdullah, an 18-year-old construction worker from Hooghly’s Khanakul who had returned from Gujarat’s Ahmedabad three weeks ago, was among the nine killed in the collapse of a five-storey building at Garden Reach in Calcutta on Sunday midnight.

Abdullah, along with Nasimuddin Khan, 25, another mason from Murshidabad’s Bhagabangola, was on the third floor of the under-construction building that collapsed like a pack of cards.

Villagers said Abdullah, who had gone to Ahmedabad to work in a jewellery factory six months back, returned to his Khanakul home late in February to take care of his grandmother Masura Biwi who brought him up since childhood.

“Abdullah was doing well in Ahmedabad. He returned to Khanakul to look after me as I had been sick for the past few months. He loved me like his mother as I raised him since he was three years old. If he had not returned from there (Ahmedabad), he would have been alive today,” said Masura.

A villager said Abdullah’s father and mother were separated when he was a child and Masura took up the responsibility to bring him up. After completing high school, he went to Ahmedabad to learn jewellery work.

“Thousands of people from Hooghly’s Khanakul and adjoining areas go to Mumbai and Gujarat to work in the jewellery industry. After working for a month as a trainee, a person can earn Rs 30,000 a month,” said a villager.

A family member said Abdullah had decided to go to Calcutta for construction work as he couldn’t find a job in Khanakul, which is around 80 km from Calcutta. He wanted to stay close to his grandmother, the family member added

“He did not inform me about his decision to work in Calcutta. He hid the truth from me and told me he was working somewhere nearby because I did not want him to go far away from home. He was saving money to build a concrete home for our family. Unfortunately, he was killed under the debris of a concrete house,” added Masura demanding that those involved in negligence behind the collapse of the building be punished.

A villager said Abdullah had assured Mansura, who lives in a mud house at Patul village in the Khanakul 2 block, that he would work hard to gather money to construct a pucca house for his grandma, whom he used to consider as his mother.

Khanakul resident Azizul Sheikh, a relative of Abdullah, said the young boy’s death was a huge loss for his grandmother and the entire village.

“He was very popular in the area. A day before he died, he had told me over the phone that the materials used in the construction of the building that collapsed were not
of good quality. We did not imagine that the building would collapse like a pack of cards,” said Azizul.

The family members of Nasimuddin Khan, a mason who was killed in the building collapse, along with Abdullah, demanded capital punishment for those responsible for the death of their loved one.

“My son used to work in Murshibadad. One of our relatives took him to Calcutta assuring better wages. We demand capital punishment for those whose negligence caused the death of my son,” said Anjil Khan, father of the Nasimuddin.

The mason left behind his wife and three children. Neighbours said Nasimuddin had spoken to his wife around 10pm on Sunday, two hours before the building collapsed.

“He was sleeping on the third floor of the building. Everything was fine before I received a phone call early on Monday morning,” Anjil added.