New Delhi [India], September 8 (ANI): In a significant breakthrough in the Satya Niketan building collapse investigation, the labour contractor, Sanoj, has been apprehended in Uttar Pradesh's Kasganj, and was brought for examination, police said.
The development comes as the court sent the accused persons, Hariram and Urmila, to 14-day judicial custody, while Mahesh was remanded to two days of police custody.
During the investigation, Mahesh reportedly told the police that he managed the building's maintenance on behalf of his parents. He disclosed that the property had been leased to the PG operators ‘Hostel Daze’ in August 2025.
According to the police, the investigation revealed that the building was undergoing significant repair work at the time of the incident. Mahesh stated that the basement floor was being repaired due to waste accumulation during the rainy season over the past 8 to 10 days. Additionally, the ground floor was being renovated for a commercial extension.
Mahesh further revealed that on the day of the collapse, the family learned about the tragedy from locals. Fearing legal action, they fled their residence and sought refuge at his in-laws' house in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan.
On Monday, property owner Urmila Gupta (75), her husband Hariram Gupta (81), a retired Sergeant from the Indian Air Force, and their son Mahesh Gupta (52), were arrested by police with the five-storey building collapse in South Campus's Satya Niketan on Sunday, which claimed the lives of seven persons and injured several others.
Earlier today, the Supreme Court has indicated that it will examine the issue of the recent PG building collapse in South Delhi's Satya Niketan that has killed seven students so far and injured many others, on a pan-India basis.
A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan has listed the case for a hearing on Thursday.
The courts' observation followed a mention of the September 6 building collapse tragedy by senior advocate Ajit Sinha, who is a Court-appointed amicus curiae in an earlier matter where the apex court has been seeking regulatory compliance of its directions on illegal buildings and structures across the country.
Sinha noted in his report that the Satya Niketan incident assumes significance as the locality had witnessed another building collapse in April 2022, in which two people were killed, and four others were injured.
"The present incident is also required to be viewed in the context of an earlier building collapse in Satya Niketan in April 2022, in which two persons lost their lives, and four others were injured. The recurrence of such an incident in the same locality raises serious concerns regarding the effectiveness of the existing mechanism for inspection, identification of dangerous structures and enforcement of building bye-laws", the amicus report says.
The report noted that construction-related work was being undertaken in or around the basement and that there were reports of waterlogging in the basement immediately before the latest collapse. (ANI)
Satya Niketan building collapse: Labour contractor apprehended in Uttar Pradesh’s Kasganj; owners sent to custody
