The owner of the five-storey building in Delhi’s Satya Niketan area that collapsed during repair work, killing seven people, has been apprehended from Bhiwadi in Rajasthan, Delhi Police said on Monday.
The man was identified as Hariram Gupta, with police officials saying that further questioning and examination were underway as part of the investigation into the fatal collapse.
The decades-old building, located near Delhi University’s South Campus, was being used as a boys’ paying guest accommodation. It came crashing down at around 1.30 pm on Sunday, while repair work was in progress, trapping residents and workers beneath the rubble.
Rescue teams have so far pulled 12 people from the debris, but seven of them succumbed to their injuries. Several others were injured and shifted to hospitals for treatment.
A massive rescue operation continued through Sunday night and into Monday, with teams from the Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Service, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) working at the site.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta visited Satya Niketan on Monday to review the rescue operation and assess the progress of debris removal. She was accompanied by senior officials from the Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
The Chief Minister said nearly 80 per cent of the debris had been removed, while rescue personnel were continuing work in the basement, where a significant quantity of material remained.
Gupta said the preliminary assessment pointed towards a combination of water accumulation in the basement and repair work being carried out on the ageing structure as factors behind the collapse.
She said those injured were undergoing treatment and that their families were being kept informed about their medical condition. The Chief Minister also visited injured victims at AIIMS.
The Delhi government has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident and directed authorities to register an FIR against the building owner.
The apprehension of Gupta in Bhiwadi marks a significant development in the probe, as investigators seek to establish whether safety norms were violated and whether the repair work was carried out without adequate structural assessment.
Authorities are also examining the condition of the building before the collapse and the circumstances surrounding the repair work.
In the wake of the tragedy, the Delhi government has announced a broader crackdown on potentially unsafe buildings.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has ordered officials to seal five-storey buildings across Delhi as part of a safety review and warned that MCD officials found responsible for negligence would face strict action.
A structural audit of five-storey buildings will also be undertaken to identify structures that could pose a danger to occupants.
The building adjoining the collapsed structure is expected to be demolished once the remaining debris is cleared, the Chief Minister said. Residents of the collapsed building and other adjoining structures considered unsafe have already been evacuated.
The government is also working on a new policy aimed at tightening safety requirements for ageing commercial and residential properties.
Under the proposed framework, owners of old buildings could be required to submit structural audit reports and certify the safety of their premises before they are allowed to operate as paying guest accommodations, nursing homes, schools or other commercial establishments.
Gupta said officials found guilty of negligence would face immediate action.
The Satya Niketan collapse has therefore widened from a single building disaster into a larger examination of Delhi’s ageing structures, repair practices and enforcement mechanisms. With the investigation underway and structural audits being ordered, the incident is likely to intensify scrutiny of buildings operating without adequate safety certification in the national capital.
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