Delhi HC hears police report on Satya Niketan building collapse

Delhi Police have told the Delhi High Court that six people arrested in the Satya Niketan building-collapse case did not put safety safeguards in place during repair and alteration work at the property.

The five-storey building, which housed the Hostel Daze PG for Delhi University students, collapsed at about 1.30pm on September 6 while ground-floor renovation work was under way. At least seven people were killed and five were injured.

In a status report filed on September 21, police alleged that the owners had let the premises for commercial use without obtaining land-use conversion permission. Police also said that no qualified structural engineer or architect had been engaged for basement repairs or structural modifications to the ground-floor shops and other parts of the building, which investigators estimated was 40 to 50 years old.

Those arrested are owner Urmila Gupta, her husband Hari Ram Gupta, their son Mahesh Gupta, PG operators Shubham Tyagi and Sudhanshu Lovenish Kumar, and contractor Sanoj. Police further alleged that they left the site after the collapse rather than assisting in the immediate aftermath.

The High Court is scheduled to consider the report on Friday. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has ordered a magisterial inquiry, and the court had earlier directed the MCD to conduct a senior-level inquiry.