Delhi Police submitted before the city’s High Court (HC) on Thursday that the owners as well as other accused in the Satya Niketan building collapse failed to take adequate safety precautions during the construction and structural modification work, ultimately leading to such conditions that endangered lives and resulted in deaths as well as serious injuries. 

The police filed an 8-page status report on September 21, mentioning that the six arrested accused also allegedly left the site post-collapse instead of assuming responsibility or helping in the immediate aftermath. 

A bench of the HC, comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia will consider the report on Friday, sources privy to the development said. 

No qualified expert hired, says report

As per the report filed by the police, property owner Urmila Gupta, her husband Hari Ram Gupta and their son Mahesh Gupta jointly managed the facility. The police probe unearthed that they had neither obtained land-use conversion permission nor secured the requisite approvals to let out the property commercially. 

Police added that the owners did not engage or seek advice from any qualified structural engineer or architect before executing basement repairs and structural modifications to the ground-floor shops and other portions of the building. 

The report further claimed that, on the basis of the available records, no complaint had been received about the property at South Campus police station before the incident. The report read, “Prima facie, the six arrested accused persons failed to take adequate safety precautions,“ adding that the construction work created such a situation that endangered human life and ultimately led to deaths, as well as grievous injuries. 

Contractor roped in unqualified labourers

According to police, the contractor, Sanoj, roped in two unqualified labourers to conduct repair and structural modification work. Sources familiar with the probe said that Sanoj was an unprofessional and unqualified rajmistri and allegedly failed to adopt adequate safety measures while carrying out the work in the old building. 

Adding to the allegations, police said that neither Sanoj nor the property owners obtained the opinion of a qualified architect or structural expert before undertaking the repairs and modifications. 

PG operators also under scanner

The police report also raised questions over the conduct of the operators of the Hostel Daze PG, Shubham Tyagi and Sudhanshu Lovenish Kumar, alleging that they rented the premises without verifying the building’s structural safety and design. 

The duo, according to police, allegedly failed to adopt sufficient safety measures for the PG residents or warn and guide them about potential risks linked to the ongoing construction and structural work. 

On September 7, the Delhi HC had sought responses from the city’s police, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi University. It had also directed the MCD to conduct a probe at the highest executive level, noting that the incident was unfortunate and could have been avoided, had the authorities been mindful of their statutory duties. 

Collapse on Sept 6 claimed seven lives

The five-storey building in Satya Niketan, which housed a paying guest (PG) accommodation house as Hostel Daze for the students enrolled at Delhi University (DU), collapsed on September 6, claiming the lives of seven people and injuring five others grievously. 

As per police, renovation work was in progress on the ground floor when the structure gave way at around 1:30 pm. The building was estimated to be 50 years old. 

The cops laid hands on property owner Hariram Gupta (81), a resident of Gurugram, in connection with the incident. Police then registered an FIR at the South Campus Police Station under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 290 (negligent conduct in pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings) and 125 (act endangering the life or personal safety of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Delhi Chief Minister (CM) Rekha Gupta ordered a magisterial inquiry into the collapse.