Hariram Gupta, the PG owner of the tragic Satya Niketan building and his wife have been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days, while their son has been sent to police custody for two days.The Delhi Police earlier arrested the building owners and beneficiaries 81-year-old Hariram Gupta, his wife Urmila Gupta (75 years) and son Mahesh Gupta, aged 52 years. During examination, it was found that the property is in name of Urmila Gupta. It was being managed and run by her husband Hariram and her son, Mahesh. Hariram is having electricity connections of two floors in his name. He is a retd Sergeant from Indian Air Force.
Mahesh is running a hardware and paint shop. He is having 2 kids. In addition, search of the PG Operators and labour contractor is being made. Their role will also be examined in the case and accordingly action will be taken. The rescue operations have been completed by the agencies. Total 12 persons were rescued, out of which 7 had expired. The families of the deceased persons have been handed over the mortal remains.
HC notice to Delhi govt, MCD and DU
Delhi High Court on Monday issued a notice to Centre, Delhi government, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Delhi University (DU), seeking their separate response over the numbers of students who live in such PGs across the capital.
A Division Bench of the court that included Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia also questioning the Delhi government and said such incidents cannot happen in the national capital every second year, directing authorities to "double down" their efforts in rescuing those who are still trapped under the ruble.
The court also asked the DU to how many students who take admission are provided with hostel facilities.
Seven people killed
The decades-old five-storey building housed a boys' paying guest accommodation near Delhi University's South Campus. The building collapsed around 1.30 pm on Sunday while repair work was underway. A total of 12 people have been rescued from the site of the Satya Niketan building collapse, while seven people have died, Delhi Police said on Monday.
Meanwhile, rescue operations continue at the site of the incident. Multiple agencies, including the Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Service, National Disaster Response Force and Delhi Disaster Management Authority, have been carrying out rescue. The collapse has already triggered administrative action, with Delhi CM Rekha Gupta announcing a new policy mandating structural audits for all buildings used for public purposes, including PGs.
Five MCD officials suspended
Earlier, five MCD officials have been suspended in connection with the incident. According to an official release, the suspended officials include personnel from different levels of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), including a Deputy Commissioner, Executive Engineer, Superintending Engineer, Assistant Engineer and Junior Engineer. The action comes amid growing questions over construction and safety violations surrounding the collapsed building.
The five officials facing suspension are: Rakesh Kumar (Deputy Commissioner, South Zone), Ranveer Singh (Superintending Engineer, South Zone), Lalit Kumar Goyal (Executive Engineer, South Zone), Sunil Chauhan (Assistant Engineer, South Zone) and Ashish Kumar (Junior Engineer).
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