Satya Niketan collapse: owners skipped structural experts, police tell HC

Delhi Police have told the Delhi High Court that the owners of the building that collapsed in Satya Niketan, Southwest Delhi, killing seven people, did not engage any qualified professional before carrying out structural changes to the old structure.

In a status report filed on September 21, the police said the owners — Urmila Gupta, her husband Hari Ram Gupt and their son Mahesh Gupta, all accused in the case — failed to obtain the requisite permissions for the alterations. Instead, they engaged an unqualified mason-contractor, identified as Sanoj, to carry out the work, and did not seek the advice of any structural engineer, architect or other competent expert.

The probe further found that Sanoj had hired two unqualified labourers for the repair and modification work, and that he too failed to take adequate safety precautions. Neither the contractor nor the owners obtained any expert opinion before starting the work, the police said.

The report was filed in response to a public interest litigation by Aniket Kumar Gupta, a Delhi University law student, seeking an immediate safety audit of private paying guest and hostel accommodations in Satya Niketan, an area that largely serves students of the university's South Campus. The High Court had earlier asked the police for status reports on the investigation.

Police also flagged lapses by the operators of Hostel Daze, the paying guest facility run from the building. According to the status report, the operators did not take appropriate precautions even though construction, alteration and structural work was under way on the premises.

Investigators further found that no land-use conversion permission had been obtained, and that the premises were being commercially let out without the necessary approvals from competent authorities.

The police said they are still ascertaining the precise role and responsibility of each of the six accused in the case.