Renovation turns fatal: Student PG collapse near Delhi University campus kills 6, rescue ops continue

Police booked the owner after 13 people were rescued, while a magisterial probe was ordered and officials searched the rubble for those feared trapped.

Six people were killed, five were injured and an unknown number were feared trapped after a five-storey building in Satya Niketan that housed Delhi University students collapsed on Sunday, another in a run of tragedies that has shaken the national capital this year and turned the spotlight on the city’s frail infrastructure, poor regulatory regimes and the near-absence of a monitoring mechanism to crack down on violations.

Rescue personnel conduct a search operation in the Satya Niketan area in New Delhi. (AFP)

Renovation work preceded building collapse

Police said renovations were underway in the ground floor of the paying guest accommodation, known as Hostel Daze, triggering the collapse around 1.30pm. The building was between 40 and 50 years old, said officers.

Investigators said the building was owned by Hariram Bansal, a resident of Gurugram, and registered an FIR against him and unidentified others under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings), and 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the South Campus police station.

Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta ordered a magisterial probe into the collapse.

Thirteen people were pulled out as of 11.30pm, of whom five were confirmed dead. Two of them were identified — Abhishek, a student of Motilal Nehru College, and Yuvraj. Another death was registered later at night.

Of those rescued, five were being treated at AIIMS in Delhi and one at Safdarjung Hospital.

As of midnight, officials said several people were still likely trapped, with personnel from the police, Delhi Fire Services (DFS) and Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) combing through the rubble.

A clutch of students caught in the mounds of concrete, brick and rebar, made desperate calls for help to their friends and relatives, while others circulated videos from within the debris to draw the attention of rescue workers.

HT received an 11-second video from students recorded by a person caught in the debris. It showed a man bleeding and trapped between large blocks of concrete. By evening, it emerged this man, who was identified as Aditya Kumar, a DU student, was alive and stable, his brother Ankit Kumar said.

Condolences poured in from across political circles. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the collapse distressing and Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta supervised the rescue operation.

Most residents studied at three Delhi University colleges in the vicinity – Sri Venkateswara College, Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College and Motilal Nehru College – and came from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu and Kerala, said local residents.

Nitin Jamwal (19), a student of Motilal Nehru College who lived at the hostel until about a year ago, said: “Everything here was bad. The walls were cracking, the basement used to fill up with water.”

His friend Niteesh Chib was among those initially trapped in the collapse. He was later rescued, said Jamwal, who now lives in another PG accommodation in the vicinity.

The building, opposite Sri Venkateswara College, on the west of Benito Juarez Marg, is one of dozens of PG accommodations in the congested resettlement colony built without any planning or layout norms. The area is packed with restaurants, cafes, roadside eateries, stationery shops and grocery stores.

Even though police said repairs were being carried out on the ground floor, local residents and eyewitnesses said the work was on in the basement.

Gupta, during her visit to Satya Niketan, said, “The building was old, and some construction and renovation work was underway. Some kind of excavation was being carried out in the basement, due to which a pillar shifted and the entire building collapsed.”

Delhi’s recent tragedies raise safety concerns

The collapse is the latest in a run of building failures and fires in Delhi over the past year that have raised questions about regulation, enforcement and safety rules in the city.

On June 3, a fire at a bed-and-breakfast in Hauz Rani killed at least 23 people, including foreign nationals. Four days earlier, the collapse of an illegal building in adjacent Saidulajab killed six. In May, a fire tore through a residential building in Vivek Vihar, killing nine. On March 18, a blaze in a Palam Vihar building killed nine.

The building had about 15 rooms, with two to three students in each, said Rajen Chhetri, a local resident who works with Delhi Police. Rooms were let on a twin- and triple-sharing basis at about ₹12,000 to ₹15,000 a bed per month.

Adarsh Pandey (19), a student from Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, said one of his friends was in the building and his parents were calling him. “I have been trying to call him since it has happened but he is not taking calls... What do I tell his parents,” said Pandey.

Neighbours said Bansal and his two brothers own several buildings in the same street. Bansal moved out of the area about two decades ago, even as one of his brothers owned a stationery store and residence until two-three years ago. They later moved and rented the building out.

Meanwhile, colleges in the neighbourhood opened up their hostels for survivors and students who wanted to leave their PG accommodations in Satya Niketan.

ARSD college principal Gyantosh Jha said, “We have opened the college canteen for students to have food. We have made arrangements for students to stay at the nearby community centre and gurdwara. We will assess the situation on Monday.”

Building lacked sanctioned plan, fire NOC

The 55-square-yard property at P-14, Satya Niketan, comprised a basement and ground to fourth floors, though officials said alterations being carried out in the ground floor were unauthorised and that no building plans had been sanctioned for the structure.

The building also lacked a no-objection certificate from the fire department, mandatory for buildings taller than nine metres that accommodate more than 20 students.

A drive to check illegal construction, announced after the Hauz Rani and Saidulajab incidents, did not continue.

Following the Hauz Rani fire, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and district authorities launched inspections of commercial establishments and buildings suspected of violating fire-safety and building norms. The Delhi government had ordered a citywide enforcement drive, with joint teams comprising district officials, police, civic authorities and fire personnel tasked with checking hotels, guest houses, nursing homes, coaching centres, restaurants and other vulnerable establishments.

But the enforcement push fizzled out after the initial month.

“There were directions issued to check buildings but later officials were asked to only ensure no new construction is taking place. There were also instructions given on identifying G+4 structures. Different directions were issued at different times and following the initial push, inspections were stopped after it was felt that the vulnerable areas have been covered,” said an official who asked not to be named.

Responding to queries on the Sunday collapse, MCD said in a statement that the building is part of a resettlement colony with an area of around 55 square yards and was reportedly built in the 1990s.

MCD orders immediate sealing of illegal structures

Later, MCD in a statement said all illegal constructions with more than four floors will “be immediately sealed, and strict action will be taken against the guilty officials, leading to their immediate dismissal.”

“These orders will be implemented with immediate effect,” said the statement.

Sunday’s collapse also comes four-and-a-half years after an under-construction building fell in the same neighbourhood, a few metres away, killing two and injuring four.

Political leaders condole deaths, vow action

President Droupadi Murmu said she was saddened by the loss of lives in the collapse.

Prime Minister Modi condoled the loss of lives.

“The collapse of a building at Satya Niketan, Delhi is distressing. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. Authorities are working at the site and assisting those affected in the mishap,” he said on X.

Union home minister Amit Shah said he spoke to the chief minister and senior officials in the Capital, as he assured medical aid for the injured.

“Spoke with the Chief Minister, Commissioner of Police, Delhi, and the Director General, NDRF, and assessed the situation on the ground,” he said.

Chief minister Gupta vowed strict action against those responsible.

Gupta said the government’s priority was to save those trapped under the debris and assess the condition of those who had been rescued.

“I can say this much: whoever is responsible for this, whether it is the building owner or an official, will not be spared,” she said.

The collapse also prompted protests by students’ organisations.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) — the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh — staged a protest outside Civic Centre, the MCD headquarters, on Sunday evening, demanding the corporation’s commissioner step down, as well as an immediate safety audit of all PG accommodations.