New Delhi: A labour contractor who was overseeing repairs in the ill-fated Satya Niketan PG building’s basement was arrested by Delhi Police from Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh while three members of the family that owned the building were sent to judicial custody and police custody for varying periods, an official said on Tuesday.
Labour contractor Sanoj was apprehended in Kasganj and is being brought to Delhi for examination, the police said.
Initial questioning of Sanoj revealed that on the day of the building collapse, the basement floor was being repaired as the waste was getting accumulated during rainy season for the past eight to 10 days, said the police, adding that the Ground Floor of the building was being repaired for extension for commercial purpose.
Meanwhile, the building owner Urmila, 75, and her retired husband Hariram, 81, were produced in court which sent them to 14 days of judicial custody.
Their son Mahesh was sent to police custody for two days, said an official.
The police said that during questioning, Mahesh told interrogators that he used to manage the maintenance of the building on behalf of his parents. They had given the building on lease to the PG Operators ‘Hostel Daze’ in August 2025.
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Tuesday that the civic agency will demolish a dilapidated building next to the site of the ill-fated paying guest (PG) building that collapsed in Satya Niketan, killing seven people two days ago.
Sharing information about the plan to pull down the unsafe structure, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on social media platform X on Tuesday said, “On the instructions of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has been directed to demolish the dilapidated building adjoining the accident site in the interest of public safety.”
“The belongings of students inside the building are being safely removed by Delhi Fire Service personnel in a systematic manner. All students and local residents are requested to cooperate with the authorities,” the CMO added.
The demolition order comes in the backdrop of the strict action of suspending five civic officials responsible for checking illegal construction in the colony located close to Delhi University’s South Campus in Dhaula Kuan.
The five-storey building, known as ‘Hostel Daze’, was operating as a boys’ PG, and several students were staying there when the incident took place around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, in which seven people were killed, the police said.
(IANS)
