₹1 crore aid, probe Delhi PG nexus: CJP's top demands after Satya Niketan building collapse

The collapse of a five-storey boys' PG accommodation near Delhi University's South Campus, which killed seven people on Sunday, has triggered fresh questions over the safety of student housing in the national capital. Against that backdrop, the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) on Monday demanded an independent probe into what it called the nexus between private paying guest operators and politicians, a nationwide structural safety audit of student accommodation, and the construction of more hostels for Delhi University students.

At a press conference in Delhi, CJP co-convener Saurav Das set out seven demands and said the probe should not be limited to the owner of the collapsed building. He said it must also examine what he described as the 'PG mafia' operating in educational hubs, while seeking accountability for both illegal construction and weak enforcement.

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CJP's seven demands after the collapse

The seven demands listed by CJP were: an independent criminal investigation into not just the owner but also the nexus between the owner, politicians and other persons to investigate the larger PG mafia; time-bound engineering-grade structural audits of buildings, especially schools, colleges and student accommodations, along with rehabilitation of students, sealing of illegal constructions and penalties for owners; publication within 48 hours of all records of the 13 district committees formed after the Hauz Rani incident, including enforcement reports and Satya Niketan surveys; a public searchable database showing whether each student establishment is sanctioned and safe; construction of government hostels for Delhi University and other students; immediate financial compensation of ₹1 crore for the families of the dead and ₹20 lakh for the injured; and direct ministerial accountability of Ashish Sood, along with an explanation on why the work of the 13 district committees wound down under his administration.

Independent probe and structural audits

"Our first demand is that there should be an independent criminal investigation not only of the owner, but also of the nexus between the owners and the politicians sitting in the government," Das said.

The party also called for an engineering-grade structural audit of schools, colleges and student accommodations across the country, particularly in major student clusters such as Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar. "The youth of the country are the future. It is the responsibility of all of us to rectify their concerns and provide them with a safe environment," Das said, while demanding that the audits be carried out in a time-bound manner.

CJP said the exercise should be accompanied by rehabilitation of students and strict enforcement, including sealing illegal constructions and penalising owners.

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Records of district committees and Satya Niketan inspection

The outfit also sought publication within 48 hours of the records of 13 district committees constituted by the Delhi government after the Hauz Rani fire to identify illegal and vulnerable buildings. "We demand that within 48 hours you should publish all these records on your website," Das said.

He said the records should include the constitution of the committees, their daily and weekly reports, buildings inspected, violations detected, notices issued, demolition orders passed, and action taken against officials and owners. "And the most important thing: Did you inspect Satya Niketan through these committees? You answer this," he said.

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Searchable database and more hostels

CJP further demanded a publicly searchable database of student accommodations so that students can verify the structural and safety certifications of the buildings where they live. It also called for more Delhi University hostels, saying existing hostel capacity is around 7,000 even though the university has a student population running into lakhs.

The party sought immediate financial compensation of ₹1 crore for the family of each person killed in the collapse and ₹20 lakh for those critically injured. Its seventh demand was ministerial accountability, with Das specifically naming Delhi Urban Development, Planning and Education Minister Ashish Sood.

"Ashish Sood, who is the Minister of Planning and Education, should be held accountable. This is a movement of accountability. The youth of our country are dying in such conditions. This is not acceptable, and we will not tolerate it," Das said.

What happened in Satya Niketan

The five-storey building collapsed around 1.30 pm on Sunday while repair work was under way. In the aftermath, the Delhi government directed authorities to immediately seal illegal five-storey buildings and intensify inspections of nearby paying-guest accommodations and other structures.

Das said the incident showed both an immediate failure to prevent illegal construction and a wider failure to regulate private student accommodation. "One is the immediate failure that illegal construction took place. Safety norms were not followed and were not enforced by MCD and local agencies. And the second layer of failure is the structural failure," he said.

He added, "There is such a large student population near the DU campus. But even then, an unregulated private PG economy was going on where there was no enforcement and all the regulations were not followed." According to CJP, there was no adequate follow-up or enforcement after the Hauz Rani fire.

Reference to Hauz Rani fire

The party referred to the June 3, 2026 fire at Flourish Stays, a five-storey bed-and-breakfast facility in south Delhi's Hauz Rani area near Malviya Nagar, in which 23 people were killed and dozens of others were injured. CJP leader Deepak Baliyan said, “If the guilty are not punished, Jantar Mantar is the same, Delhi is the same, and we are the same. The fire will start again.” He said the suspension of officials was not enough and demanded stringent punishment for those responsible.