Warnings ignored: Cops raised safety concerns in Satya Niketan 3 months before PG collapse killed 7

Inspections revealed violations, yet responses to such tragedies in Delhi often lack lasting change, illustrating regulatory failures amid growing safety risks.

Police flagged safety concerns, mainly fire risks, about buildings in Satya Niketan around three months before a multi-storey hostel collapsed in the South Delhi locality last Sunday, killing seven people, mostly students.

A letter, seen by HT, stated that several paying guest accommodations and cafes in Satya Niketan were operating without a fire safety no-objection certificate (NEERAJ CHOPRA/ANI)

The warning came after inspections were carried out in the wake of yet another fatal incident that exposed regulatory deficiencies, gaps in enforcement and general civic apathy in the Capital–a fire that ripped through a bed and breakfast in Hauz Rani, killing 23 people. That the warning appears to have gone unheeded illustrates how the response to such tragedies in Delhi falls calamitously short of meaningful change after following a now-familiar script of inspections, inquiries, lists of violations, and promises of action.

On June 17, two weeks after the Hauz Rani fire, the South Campus station house officer sent a letter to the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), Mehrauli, flagging “public safety” concerns and advising “any and early action” in the Satya Niketan locality. The area, close to 13 colleges, was a hub for students seeking alternative accommodation in the city given the chronic shortage of on-campus hostel rooms in Delhi University.

Letter flagged PGs, cafes operating without fire NOCs

But, the letter, seen by HT, stated that several paying guest accommodations and cafes in Satya Niketan were operating without a fire safety no-objection certificate (NOC) and fire safety measures. The letter stated that inspections may be carried out by an unspecified department to address the issues and offered police assistance to carry out such inspections. “The issue also involves public safety, sanitation, fire safety and law and order concerns. Therefore any and early action in this matter is solicited,” the letter concluded.

The Sub-divisional Magistrate, Rahul Rathod denied receiving the letter. “We have not received any letter. However, it’s possible that it may have come to the office and was sent to the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi), as the action was to be taken by them,” the SDM said. MCD did not respond to queries on the letter. However, after the Hauz Rani blaze, the government had formed 13 district-level committees with members from different government agencies, including the MCD, to carry out inspections and take action.

Investigators said that the Satya Niketan PG did not have a fire NOC. An initial survey following Sunday’s collapse identified at least 20 other multi-storey buildings in the Satya Niketan and Moti Bagh area that appear to require a fire NOC but have never applied for one, officials said. Most of these buildings function as student accommodation. Only three restaurants had an all-clear from the Delhi Fire Service (DFS), these officials said.

Under DFS rules, structures exceeding the prescribed height threshold of 17.5 metres, eateries with seating capacity of more than 50 people and certain other commercial establishments are required to obtain fire NOCs.

Experts said the lack of fire safety clearances often indicate the possibility of other violations.

“In authorised areas and buildings constructed by Delhi Development Authority, the possibility of violations despite not having a fire NOC are less, but areas that spring up on need-to basis like Satya Niketan or Mukherjee Nagar, it’s highly possible that if they don’t have a fire NOC, they are also violating other rules under the National Building Code,” pointed out former fire services chief Atul Garg.

Illegal floors and wall removal weakened collapsed building

After the collapse, multiple structural issues with the Satya Niketan building have come to light, though the MCD said it could find no record of the building being booked for illegal construction. Driven by greed, the building’s owner and his brother constructed four illegal floors in a nearly 50-year-old structure despite knowing that the building’s foundation could give way under the additional load, the police FIR said.

The final straw, investigators said, was the removal of a wall on the ground floor for creating space for a shop on the day of the incident. No permission was sought for such work, officials added.

A senior police officer said a labour contractor hired by Mahesh Gupta, the building owner’s son, told investigators that a plumber had come about an hour and a half earlier and had asked him not to break the wall. But, the contractor, identified as Sanoj Kumar, told the plumber that he was asked to do so by his employer, and he would have to do it, the officer said.

The building collapsed after the wall was removed, trapping students and workers under rubble. Five DU students and two labourers were killed. Twelve people were rescued after a 28-hour operation. Five people have been arrested. They include building owner Hariram Gupta, his wife Urmila, their son Mahesh, and the labour contractor Kumar. Sudhanshu Loveneesh, who along with Shubham Tyagi, had allegedly leased the building from the Guptas to operate the PG, was also arrested. A Delhi court Thursday denied to grant Tyagi anticipatory bail.

The officer quoted above said Loveneesh allegedly told investigators that about six-seven days before the incident, they had called Mahesh Gupta and asked him about the construction activity. “But Mahesh reportedly told them that he was carrying out minor work. They had raised objections about any commercial activity being planned on the ground floor, but Mahesh told them that he would speak to them when free,” the officer said.

After the collapse on September 6, the Delhi government asked the MCD to conduct a citywide inspection and take action against unauthorised construction. Several buildings have been demolished as part of this exercise, and officials suspended. The government also announced plans to formulate a comprehensive policy to regulate PGs in Delhi within two months.

The crackdown that followed the Hauz Rani fire too targeted buildings and establishments violating fire safety and construction norms. But officials involved in that exercise said the inspections– one of which revealed the safety issues in Satya Niketan–did not continue for long.

The Hauz Rani tragedy was preceded by another building collapse in an area that mirrored Satya Niketan in terms of congestion and unregulated construction. A building crumbled in south Delhi’s Saidulajab on May 30, killing six people, including five doctors and engineers and one eatery owner. A magisterial inquiry report blamed “inadequate regulatory enforcement”, among other reasons, for the collapse, stating the “most significant deficiencies were found in the monitoring and enforcement mechanism of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi”.