As the investigation into the Satya Niketan building collapse widens, Delhi Police are turning to call records, chat histories and data from mobile phones to piece together what happened in the crucial hours after the five-storey structure came crashing down, killing seven people.
Teams are also searching for Shubham Tyagi, one of the accused who remains absconding, with police teams sent to Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and other places to trace him, sources said on Thursday.
The mobile phone of co-accused Sudhanshu Lovneesh, who is in custody, has been sent for forensic examination. Investigators are examining whom Lovneesh called immediately after the collapse, what he discussed about the incident and his subsequent conversations and chats, besides other data stored on the device, the sources said.
The probe is also focusing on the work being carried out inside the building before it collapsed on Sunday.
According to the sources, a wall on the ground floor was removed on the day of the incident to make space for a shop. Repair and extension work was also underway there, allegedly for commercial purposes.
The basement, meanwhile, had reportedly been undergoing repairs for eight to 10 days after waste and water accumulated there following several days of rain. Three truckloads of debris were allegedly dumped into the basement to bring its level up to that of the ground floor.
The collapse killed seven people, five students and two labourers, and left five others injured.
Police have arrested the building owner's son Mahesh, labour contractor Sanoj Kumar and PG accommodation operator Lovneesh. Building owner Hariram Gupta, 81, and his wife Urmila, 75, are also in judicial custody.
Tyagi and Lovneesh were operating the PG under the name "Hostel Daze" after taking four floors of the building on lease in August 2025 for a monthly rent of Rs 1.05 lakh.
With Tyagi still on the run, investigators are now trying to establish his movements and communications around the time of the collapse as they piece together the sequence of events that preceded and followed the tragedy.