The Delhi Police has arrested PG operator Sudhanshu in connection with the Satya Niketan building collapse that claimed seven lives, a day after apprehending labour contractor Sanoj from Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh, a senior police officer said.
On Monday, a Delhi court sent building owner Hariram, an 81-year-old retired Indian Air Force sergeant, and his 75-year-old wife Urmila to 14 days’ judicial custody, while their 52-year-old son Mahesh was remanded to police custody for two days.
During the investigation, Mahesh stated that he managed the maintenance of the building on behalf of his parents, who had leased it to the PG operators, ‘Hostel Daze’, in August 2025.
Sudhanshu was one of the two business partners running the ‘Hostel Daze’ PG, along with Shubham Tyagi, who is currently absconding and is being traced, sources said.
The basement floor was being repaired as waste had accumulated during the rainy season over the past eight to 10 days and the ground floor was being repaired for extension for commercial purposes.
On the day of the incident, they came to know about the collapse from the locals and fled their home to his in-laws’ house in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan. The labour contractor, Sanoj, has been apprehended from Kasganj and is being brought for examination, the officer said.
The collapsed building in Satya Niketan was decades old and housed a boys’ PG. Spread over around 55 square metres, it comprised a basement and ground plus four floors. Each floor reportedly had two rooms with two beds each. Police sources said the structure did not have columns and beams.
The building came down around 1.30 pm on Sunday when repair work was underway. A total of 12 people were pulled out from the rubble, of whom seven died.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, who visited the AIIMS Trauma Centre on Tuesday and met the families of students affected by the building collapse, announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to the injured.
AIIMS in a statement, said, "Of the four patients admitted, two patients, Aditya and Nitish Chib, have been discharged after receiving treatment. Neeraj Bawa remains admitted in the ICU and is in critical condition, while Asgar Ali is stable."
The compensation for the kin of those who died in the tragedy will be announced soon, sources from Gupta's office said.
The chief minister has directed the municipal corporation to conduct a safety review of PGs across the city, including checks of building safety, requisite permissions, Fire Safety NOCs, and structural stability certificates.
Following the incident, civic officials have also faced action. MCD Deputy Commissioner (South Zone) Rakesh Kumar and four engineers, Superintending Engineer Ranvir Singh, Executive Engineer Lalit Kumar Goel, Assistant Engineer Sunil Chauhan and Junior Engineer Ashish Kumar, have been suspended.
The MCD has ordered the inspection of buildings across Delhi, especially those suspected of violating height and floor norms. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has directed officials to seal all five-storey structures in the city.
(With inputs from PTI)