On Tuesday, September 8, 2026, Delhi’s chief minister Rekha Gupta issued instructions to demolish a building that was located adjacent to the paying guest (PG) building which had collapsed in the Satya Niketan area.
This decision follows two days of a similar collapse of a five-storey hostel called "Hostel Daze" near the Delhi University South Campus on Sunday when seven people died and five others were injured in an accident during the repair work.
As per the police reports, the building collapsed at around 1:30 pm on Sunday, when the repair work was going on inside the building, thus leading to the entrapment of students and workers.
According to the investigators, the basement was suffering from the water seepage issue, and a labour contractor had been working to fix it at that very moment.
There are speculations that the combination of repair work and rain could have filled up the basement with water that the building could not bear.
Urmila Gupta owned the structure which was about 50 years old, whereas Hariram Gupta, who was 81 years old, and his son Mahesh, aged 52, were running the PG.
The authorities have mentioned unapproved construction of extra floors, repairing the basement along with ground floor at the same time, and absence of an emergency exit as the factors which could have led to the incident.
It is believed that at the time of the incident, Hariram Gupta was present in Gurugram but after that he switched off his mobile phone and went underground.
Ten teams of policemen were sent in search of Hariram Gupta who was finally traced in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan. Hariram, Urmila and Mahesh were charged with culpable homicide, negligence, and risking the lives of others.
Gupta suspended five MCD officials, which include a deputy commissioner and four engineers, following the increase in scope of investigations into both the municipal corporation and Delhi University.
While distributing relief materials at AIIMS Trauma Centre, Gupta stated that the adjacent building would be demolished since it was found to be structurally unsound by the MCD.
Her office has referred to it as “dilapidated” and has maintained that “demolition is in the public interest.” It has also been reported that it is in a “ruinous and dangerous state.”
The building has been supported with iron railings as a safety measure, and fire service men are removing belongings of students from it.
Gupta offered financial assistance of Rs 5 Lakh to each of the victims and stated that the expenses of treatment of all the victims will be fully borne by the Government.
Buildings having illegal fifth floors in Delhi were sealed immediately under the orders of Gupta. Additionally, MCD records for September 7 reveal that five buildings in ward 160 (Maidangarhi, Saidulajab, Neb Sarai) were issued show-cause notices, while demolition was ordered for one building in Saidulajab.
Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu presided over a meeting where it was decided to conduct a citywide inspection of PG hubs within a week, create committees to conduct surveys of student tenants, and review institutional housing rules.
The Delhi police ruled out reports that mobile phone jammers were installed in the vicinity of the building to limit communication in connection with the rescue mission.
This destruction is the effect of the prior collapse of buildings that took place at Saket, where there was a death of six individuals on June 3, 2026.
This was also because of an earlier event in 2024 where three students drowned because of flooding at their coaching center where they were being taught.
The incident of the destruction of buildings happened even at Satya Niketan once before.
Demolition will take place in stages as the authorities vacate the premises.
The questioning of the detained owners is continuing, and the inspection of the PG facilities and unauthorized floors across the city is anticipated to take place in the coming week.
