Additional floors without permission, repair work in basement, no second exit: Satya Niketan building under probe
Delhi building collapse: Residents also said the building had no second exit that could have allowed occupants to escape during an emergency.
- Sep 7, 2026,
- Updated Sep 7, 2026 9:48 AM IST
Delhi building collapse: Construction of additional floors allegedly without permission, repair work carried out in the basement and ground floor, and inadequate safety checks, including the absence of an emergency exit, are reportedly among the lapses being examined after a five-storey building housing a paying guest (PG) accommodation collapsed in Southwest Delhi’s Satya Niketan on Sunday.
The building, marked P-14 by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), was constructed in the late 1990s on a 55-square-yard plot. It comprised a basement and four floors above the ground floor. According to a report in The Indian Express, locals said two additional floors were added around two years ago. Police are investigating when the construction took place and whether the required permissions were obtained, the report said.
Residents also said the building had no second exit that could have allowed occupants to escape during an emergency, according to the report. Police are examining whether the PG operation complied with the required rules and safety norms.
The property was reportedly leased to an entity called ‘Hostel Daze’ last year and used as accommodation. Sources said the building was owned by three Gurgaon-based brothers – Hari Ram Bansal, Anand Bansal and Azad Bansal. The lease arrangements, permissions for running the PG and compliance with safety requirements are expected to form part of the investigation.
Residents said cracks had been visible before the collapse and repair work had been underway for about a week. The building reportedly suffered from dampness, cracks and water accumulation. Police are examining whether a structural assessment was conducted before the repair work began and whether the work itself contributed to the collapse or involved alterations to load-bearing elements.
The building reportedly had multiple PG rooms, with four rooms on each floor. Rooms were rented on a bed-by-bed basis, with rents varying by floor. The ground-floor rooms were reportedly rented at ₹18,000 per bed, while rates were around ₹16,000 on the third floor and ₹14,000 on the fourth floor. The second floor was reportedly not rented out, it said.
Residents of the 299-house resettlement colony said this was the fourth such incident in around 15 years. The last major incident, in 2022, claimed two lives.
Delhi building collapse: Construction of additional floors allegedly without permission, repair work carried out in the basement and ground floor, and inadequate safety checks, including the absence of an emergency exit, are reportedly among the lapses being examined after a five-storey building housing a paying guest (PG) accommodation collapsed in Southwest Delhi’s Satya Niketan on Sunday.
The building, marked P-14 by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), was constructed in the late 1990s on a 55-square-yard plot. It comprised a basement and four floors above the ground floor. According to a report in The Indian Express, locals said two additional floors were added around two years ago. Police are investigating when the construction took place and whether the required permissions were obtained, the report said.
Residents also said the building had no second exit that could have allowed occupants to escape during an emergency, according to the report. Police are examining whether the PG operation complied with the required rules and safety norms.
The property was reportedly leased to an entity called ‘Hostel Daze’ last year and used as accommodation. Sources said the building was owned by three Gurgaon-based brothers – Hari Ram Bansal, Anand Bansal and Azad Bansal. The lease arrangements, permissions for running the PG and compliance with safety requirements are expected to form part of the investigation.
Residents said cracks had been visible before the collapse and repair work had been underway for about a week. The building reportedly suffered from dampness, cracks and water accumulation. Police are examining whether a structural assessment was conducted before the repair work began and whether the work itself contributed to the collapse or involved alterations to load-bearing elements.
The building reportedly had multiple PG rooms, with four rooms on each floor. Rooms were rented on a bed-by-bed basis, with rents varying by floor. The ground-floor rooms were reportedly rented at ₹18,000 per bed, while rates were around ₹16,000 on the third floor and ₹14,000 on the fourth floor. The second floor was reportedly not rented out, it said.
Residents of the 299-house resettlement colony said this was the fourth such incident in around 15 years. The last major incident, in 2022, claimed two lives.