The collapse of a PG hostel in Delhi’s Satya Niketan is a grim tale of alleged greed, with the owners accused of adding floors to a decades-old building despite knowing that its foundation was too weak to bear the additional load.
Police Arrest Retired IAF Sergeant in Culpable Homicide Case
Delhi Police registered FIR No. 153/2026 at the South Campus Police Station on Sunday night, leading to the arrest of 81-year-old Hariram Gupta, a retired Sergeant of the Indian Air Force, along with his wife and son. The police have invoked Sections 105, 290, and 125(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which address culpable homicide not amounting to murder, negligence in building activities, and actions that endanger the safety of others.
The Gupta family recently had it repaired and turned it into a paying-guest facility to leverage the area’s proximity to Delhi University. The identity of the seventh victim has not yet been established. The building was 50 years old. A 75-year-old labourer, Surinder Singh, also died. Seven died and 5 were injured in the building collapse
Three of the injured are reported to be in critical condition. Five people injured in the collapse-Asgar Ali, 30; Neeraj Bawan, 19; Aditya Kumar, 19; Nitish Chib, 19; and Mohammad Ayan, 18-are undergoing treatment at the AIIMS Trauma Centre and Safdarjung Hospital.
