New Delhi: Nearly two months after a five-storey building housing a PG accommodation collapsed in southwest Delhi’s Satya Niketan, killing seven people, police have stated in the chargesheet that no approval for structural modifications or alterations to the building were obtained from any competent authority.
During interrogation, Sanoj Kumar disclosed he had been engaged by Mahesh Gupta for renovation work in the building about 10 days before the incident. Kumar was allegedly paid Rs 2,800 per day by Mahesh Gupta for the work.
He said nearly three truckloads of construction debris (malba) were dumped in the basement. The work involved levelling the basement with the ground floor. He also disclosed that a wall on the ground floor was obstructing the space intended for a shop. On the day of the incident, the wall was removed to create additional space. The building subsequently collapsed.
The investigation revealed Shudhanshu and Shubham had taken four floors of the building on lease in Aug 2025 for a monthly rent of Rs 1,05,000. The Sept 6 building collapse claimed the lives of five students, Akshat Yadav, Arpit Jaj, Pawan Kumar, Yuvraj Soni and Abhishek Kumar, and two labourers, Paramlal Kori and Surender Singh. They then rented out the property at comparatively lower rates due to its dilapidated condition.
Despite being aware of the building’s condition, Shudhanshu allegedly failed to take cognisance of the renovation and construction activities being carried out, which could have affected the structural stability of the entire building, stated the chargesheet.