Delhi Police arrested the primary owner of a four-storey student hostel building in southwest Delhi’s Satya Niketan on Sunday, following the conclusion of intense search-and-rescue operations that confirmed seven fatalities.
The commercial residential property, situated directly opposite Delhi University’s South Campus, collapsed catastrophically while laborers were carrying out structural alterations in the basement. National Disaster Response Force personnel and Delhi Fire Services squads spent nearly forty hours sifting through mounds of reinforced concrete debris before officially concluding operations on Sunday morning.
Investigators identified the arrested property owner as Mukul Singhal, booking him under sections relating to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, negligent conduct with respect to pulling down or repairing buildings, and causing grievous hurt. South West district police officials confirmed that Singhal had leased out dozens of micro-rooms to outstation students despite receiving prior cease-and-desist warnings from civic engineers.
Forensic structural specialists from IIT Delhi visited the disaster site to examine the foundational integrity of neighboring properties. Their preliminary observations noted that unpermitted basement deepening had completely sheared the building’s central load-bearing masonry piers, leaving upper residential floors unsupported.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi announced an immediate suspension of three regional building inspectors pending a vigilance inquiry into regulatory oversights. Delhi authorities also established an emergency inter-agency screening desk at the South Campus administrative complex to help displaced student residents secure temporary university housing and replace destroyed academic credentials.
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Sources:
https://www.thehindu.com/news/top-news-of-the-day-september-7-2026-owner-nabbed-after-delhi-building-collapse-nepal-floods-death-toll-reaches-1355/article71438631.ece