According to police, a portion of the balcony, which also had an illegally constructed toilet, fell on a tin shed beneath which the two were standing. Both were buried under the debris and died on the spot.
Akash, a resident of Mandoli in Delhi, had been living with his family in a rented flat at Tulsi Niketan. He worked in a factory that manufactured cooker whistles.
Police said the balcony that collapsed belonged to a flat owned by Shabina Khan. A toilet had been illegally constructed on the balcony which is suspected to have weakened the structure.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Shalimar Garden) Atul Kumar Singh said that appropriate legal action will be taken following the investigation.
The bodies have been sent for post-mortem, and reports are awaited.
A Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) official said that Tulsi Niketan colony, situated along the Delhi-UP border on Wazirabad Road, was constructed around 30 years ago and has been in a severely dilapidated condition for years.
“The GDA had issued several public notices urging residents to vacate the flats in view of safety concerns and proposed reconstruction. However, the residents ignored the warnings,” the official said. PTI COR ABN HIG