This May 25, Kapil appeared for an interview for the position of a scientific officer at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
His family said the interview panel told Kapil that he would receive an offer letter soon.
Kapil returned to Delhi, excited about his new role and eagerly waiting for the BARC letter.
He was overjoyed after the BARC interview in Mumbai.
It was also his birthday; he turned 25,” Mukesh said.
Kapil Lawaniya turned 25 on May 25. But this birthday was more special. This May 25, Kapil appeared for an interview for the position of a scientific officer at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). His family said the interview panel told Kapil that he would receive an offer letter soon. This joy, however, was short-lived. Kapil returned to Delhi, excited about his new role and eagerly waiting for the BARC letter. Five days after his interview, he met some friends at a makeshift eatery in Delhi’s Saidulajab to celebrate his achievement. A short while later, a building next to the eatery collapsed, burying the popular food joint. Kapil was among six people who died in the tragedy.
A BTech graduate from Bharatpur, Rajasthan, Kapil dreamt of serving the country as a scientist. He was overjoyed after the BARC interview in Mumbai. In Delhi, he lived as a paying guest at Saidulajab and planned to treat his friends.
Minutes before the building collapsed on the evening of May 30, Kapil called his younger sister Ritika and told her he was going out to celebrate with his friends. “He spoke to me around 7.23 pm. He was in his room. At 7.55 pm, he called again and said he was injured and was being taken to the hospital. We could not understand what happened within a few minutes,” Ritika told The Indian Express over the phone, her voice choking.
Six people were killed in the building collapse in Delhi Six people were killed in the building collapse in Delhi
She then handed the phone to her uncle, Mukesh Lawaniya. “Desh ne ek scientist kho diya (Our country lost a scientist),” Mukesh said, breaking down. Mukesh, principal at a government school in Rajasthan, said he motivated Kapil to pursue a career in science. “In Class 12, he scored 85 per cent and then secured a 97.6 percentile in JEE after preparing in Kota. He later pursued a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering in Jaipur. I encouraged him to prepare for GATE so that he could join organisations such as BARC and ISRO. He went to Delhi three months ago to prepare and qualified GATE with an All India Rank of 57,” Mukesh said.
Based on his GATE rank, Kapil was shortlisted for the BARC written examination. After clearing the test, he was called for an interview on May 25 in Mumbai. “He flew from Delhi to Mumbai and faced a panel interview that lasted nearly an hour. The panel appeared satisfied with his performance and indicated that he would likely receive an offer letter soon. Immediately after the interview, he called me and his father. We congratulated him. It was also his birthday; he turned 25,” Mukesh said.
A Father Mourns
Kapil’s father, Rajesh Lawaniya, runs a fertiliser business in Bharatpur. “I have lost everything. My son was the hope of our entire family. No one in our family ever came close to becoming a scientist. He told us he had been selected for the post of Scientific Officer. The offer letter would have arrived in a few days,” Rajesh said. “While he was being taken to the hospital, he told me, ‘Papa, meri halat kharab hai, aap log aa jao’ (Papa, my condition is serious, please come). We immediately left for Delhi.”
The family said Kapil was first taken to a nearby hospital. “We informed our relatives in Delhi. They rushed to the hospital and found him lying there without proper treatment for more than an hour.” Later, Kapil was referred to Safdarjung Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. “We reached the hospital around midnight, and the body was handed over. Is this why we sent our child to Delhi for studies?” he asked.
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Police have arrested the building’s 71-year-old owner, Karambir Sejwal. Sejwal’s family owns several properties in Saidulajab and has rented them out to businesses and individuals, police said. Structures in this area cannot have more than ground plus three storeys, but two additional floors were being built in the building that fell.
