Delhi PG Collapse: FIR filed against owners; Accused of adding four floors to decades old structure
In the latest development in the collapse of a PG hostel in Delhi’s Satya Niketan, the owners have been accused of adding extra floors to a decades-old building despite allegedly knowing that its foundation was too weak to bear the additional load.
An FIR has been registered against the owners, Hariram Bansal, alias Gupta, and his brother for allegedly constructing four extra floors on top of the old structure, driven by the desire to earn through rental income.
The building, named HostelDaze PG, was a ground-plus-four-storey structure when it came crashing down on Sunday, killing seven people and injuring several others.
The investigation revealed that the building was around 50 years old and that Gupta’s family had recently repaired it and converted it into a paying guest facility to benefit from its proximity to the university.
The FIR states that the owners were aware that the building’s old foundation was not capable of bearing the additional weight. Despite this, the construction of additional floors was allegedly allowed to proceed.
In the wake of the September 6 building collapse in Satya Niketan, the Supreme Court-appointed amicus curiae has urged the court to expand its ongoing inspection exercise to PG accommodations, private hospitals and similar student housing establishments across Delhi.
The Supreme Court had earlier directed the inspection of buildings in Lajpat Nagar, Saket and Malviya Nagar amid concerns over unauthorised constructions. However, Satya Niketan was not covered in that exercise.
In the latest order, civic authorities have decided to demolish the adjoining structure in a calibrated, phase-wise manner after finding it weakened and unsaf
The building adjacent to PG accommodation is currently being held up by 18 to 20 guard rails placed across the front, back and centre as a precautionary measure. After the inspection, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi found the structure to be unsafe and served it a notice.
“The building has weakened, and we will take it up for demolition in a calibrated manner in the next 1-2 days,” MCD Commissioner Sanjeev Khirwar said.
Earlier on Monday, Bansal and his wife, Urmila, were sent to 14 days of judicial custody by a Delhi court. Their son, Mahesh Bansal, was remanded to two-day police custody for further interrogation and investigation into the alleged negligence and safety violations.