THE death toll in the building collapse in Delhi’s Satya Niketan rose to seven on Monday as the rescue operation of over 27-hour concluded on Monday evening, with 12 people rescued from the debris and the owner of the building, Hariram, arrested by Delhi Police in Bhiwadi in Rajasthan. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta visited the site again on the second day to take stock of the rescue work, and warned of strict action against officials responsible for the tragedy. Within hours of her visit, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Deputy Commissioner of South zone Rakesh Kumar and four engineers were placed under suspension. According to Gupta, nearly 80 per cent of the debris had been removed from the site where the around 30-year-old five-storey building stood before it came crashing down on Sunday afternoon, and rescuers were clearing rubble from the basement.

 

The Chief Minister also directed officials to seal all five-storey structures in the city. The building, which housed a boys’ paying guest accommodation near Delhi University’s South Campus, collapsed around 1.30 pm while repair work was underway at its basement. Locals alleged the basement was waterlogged that could have weakened the structure. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said a total of 12 people were brought to the hospital, of whom three -- Asgar Ali, 30, Neeraj Bawa, 19, and Aditya Kumar, 19 -- were in critical condition. The hospital said the identities of those killed were yet to be ascertained. “A total of seven people have died, including a 75-year-old man. One person was discharged and one, Nitish Chib, 19, is in a stable condition,” the hospital said in a statement. Meanwhile, Delhi court sent a married couple arrested in connection with the Satya Niketan building collapse to 14 days of judicial custody, while their son was remanded to two days’ police custody.

 

Hariram Gupta, 81, and his wife, Urmila Gupta, 75, were sent to 14 days of judicial custody, while their 52-year-old son Mahesh Gupta was remanded to two days’ police custody after they were produced at the judge’s house. At the AIIMS trauma Centre, families and friends struggled for answers as they tried to find out about their loved ones who were killed or injured in the incident. A mother waited for her 19-year-old Delhi University student son to return home, refusing to eat unless he fed her with his own hands. Some students recalled their plan to attend a concert with Arpit, one of the seven people killed in the incident. Akshit, 18, a first-year B.Com student, had returned to Delhi from his hometown on Sept 5. His mother identified his body by a mole on his neck and a birthmark on his leg, she said. She said she had checked five or six PGs in the area before choosing this one for him. as it had an air conditioner and a washing machine, allowing him to focus solely on his studies. Nitish, an injured second-year B.Com student from Jammu, told his brother about what he witnessed moments before the building collapsed. According to his brother, Nitish said he heard the sound of water rushing and ran to his friend’s room. Before they could make their way downstairs, the building collapsed.

 

EXPRESSING deep concern over the safety and security of students living in private paying guest accommodations and hostels, the Delhi High Court has observed that responsibility for incidents involving unsafe buildings cannot be placed solely on their owners and that the concerned authorities must also be held accountable for discharging their statutory duties. The Court made the observations while hearing a matter concerning the recent building collapse in Delhi’s Satya Niketan area, where the building housed several students, including many who had come to the national capital from outside Delhi.

 

Taking note of the gravity of the incident, the Court observed that it was not merely an unfortunate accident but raised larger questions concerning the availability of hostel facilities for students, the safety of those forced to live in private PGs, and the adequacy of regulations governing such accommodations. The Court noted that there is a common perception that Delhi University does not have sufficient hostel facilities, as a result of which a large number of outstation students are compelled to seek accommodation in PGs and private hostels. It observed that the incident had brought into focus serious concerns regarding Government-run hostel facilities, the safety and security of students, and whether the authorities have an adequate regulatory framework to monitor buildings being used as PGs and hostels. Importantly, the Court said that the responsibility for ensuring safety does not lie only with the owner of a building.