Six people arrested in connection with the Satya Niketan building collapse failed to take adequate safety precautions during construction creating a situation that endangered the PG student’s lives and resulted in their deaths and serious injuries, Delhi Police told the high court in its status report.
Investigation Reveals Negligence in Satya Niketan Building Collapse
On September 21, the police reported that the six individuals arrested in connection with the building collapse at Satya Niketan left the scene without taking responsibility or assisting those affected. The investigation revealed that the accused had not obtained necessary land-use conversion permissions and were renting out the premises illegally. Furthermore, they failed to consult qualified professionals regarding structural modifications and repairs in the building, which included work on the basement and ground-floor shops.
The police findings indicated that inadequate safety measures during construction resulted in a situation that endangered lives, leading to fatalities and serious injuries among PG students and others present. Prior to the incident, there were no complaints registered about the property at PS South Campus.
On September 7, the Delhi High Court instructed the Delhi police, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and Delhi University to address a petition regarding the collapse. The court called for a high-level inquiry by the MCD, emphasizing that the incident was unfortunate and could have been prevented had the authorities fulfilled their statutory duties.
The eight page status report which will be considered by a bench of chief justice DK Upadhyaya and justice Tejas Karia on Friday added that during investigation it was revealed the building owner Urmila Gupta, her husband Hari Ram Gupta and her son Mahesh Gupta jointly manage the property and they did not obtain land use conversion permission, let out the premises commercially without obtaining the permission from the authorities. The report was filed in a petition filed by one Aniket Kumar Gupta, who sought directions for a fair and comprehensive investigation into the collapse, including an examination of the roles of the owner, contractor, builder, architect, structural engineer and workers.
