New Delhi: Probing the collapse of a five-storey building in Satya Niketan, Delhi Police are now looking at two tenant agreements linked to the paid guest (PG) accommodation operating out of the building. The agreements, a Delhi Police officer told ThePrint, state that owners of Hostel Daze will not be responsible “for any casualties or risk”.
At least five students and two labourers were killed when the building collapsed Sunday. Five others, pulled out from under the rubble, are under treatment for serious injuries.
One of the tenant agreements, of which ThePrint has seen a copy, lists do’s and don’ts for Hostel Daze residents. One clause states: “The PG authorities are not responsible against any casualties or risk to me (student).”
The officer revealed that another agreement linked to Hostel Daze states that, in case of any “personal injury suffered/loss/damage of personal belongings of the tenants due to reasons beyond the control of the PG owner because of sealing/fire/earthquake/heavy rains/natural calamities etc, the hostel will not be liable for paying any compensation”.
“The rent agreement requires students to pay three months’ security, one month’s advance rent and states that security deposit will not be refunded under any circumstance if students decide to vacate before agreement period ends or if any damage to property is done,” the officer added.
A preliminary probe has revealed that repair work in the basement and construction of a gym on the ground floor were being done simultaneously.
On Tuesday, police apprehended the labour contractor, Sanoj, from Kasganj and is in the process of recording his statement. “We will primarily enquire about the nature of the job he was given and what kind of risk assessment he had done,” said the officer quotes earlier.
The owner of the building, Hariram Gupta (81), was arrested Monday from his in-law’s house in Rajasthan’s Bhiwadi. The building was registered in the name of Gupta’s wife, Urmila (75), while the electricity connections were in the names of Hariram and his son Mahesh (52). The mother and son duo were arrested subsequently from their Gurgaon residence. The initial probe suggests that the three have no past criminal record.
The police have booked the accused under BNS sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 290 (negligent construction activity) and 125(a) (act endangering life or personal safety).
“During interrogation, Mahesh told us that they had leased out the property to PG operators Hostel Daze in August 2025, and he used to take care of the property as Gupta and his wife were old,” the officer said.
The probe has also brought to the fore that the owners of the PG were getting the “basement repaired” and “expanding the ground floor for construction of a gym”.
“The ongoing construction on the ground floor was related to a seepage issue in the building. Hariram, during interrogation, said that the students had been complaining for almost a year that the building had seepage and dampness issues, so he was monitoring the repair works,” said another senior Delhi Police officer aware of the matter.
The police have recorded statements of students who were living in the PG as well as labourers who were working at the site. “The labourers said that they were instructed to do superficial fixing. They had to fill a part of the basement with construction material and while they had already completed one part of the work by Saturday, when they began the work for the other end, the building suddenly collapsed,” the senior officer added.
Hariram told the police that the building had eight rooms and 16 beds, which he handed over to Hostel Daze in August 2025. “We are yet to obtain paperwork establishing who was handed over what and the conditions of the agreement,” said the senior officer.
The officer further told ThePrint that the property was purchased in 1982 from an allottee of the JJ colony. “Hariram and his brother Haricharan both own PGs in the area, however, both brothers moved to Gurgaon,” he added.
What the FIR states
The FIR lodged on 6 September, seen by ThePrint, blames construction of additional floors in excess of the structure’s load-bearing capacity, further weakened by ongoing construction on the ground floor, for the collapse.
Filed on a complaint by an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of the South West district, the FIR notes that the incident happened at 1 PM Sunday while the police received a PCR call around 1:34 PM. The complaint outlined that when police reached the spot, the entire building had collapsed with several people trapped under the rubble.
Further, the FIR stated that there were four additional floors constructed, on an already ageing and weak structure, for “rental income”, and that the “ongoing construction put additional pressure on the structure,” eventually leading to the collapse.
Neeraj, Aditya, Krishna and four other “unidentified” persons were the first ones to be rescued and taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, reveals the FIR.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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