‘Owner didn’t take precautions’: Delhi police tells HC on Satya Niketan collapse

Six people arrested in connection with the Satya Niketan building collapse failed to take adequate safety precautions during construction creating a situation that endangered the PG student’s lives and resulted in their deaths and serious injuries, Delhi Police told the high court in its status report.

In its status report filed on September 21, the police further stated that the accused left the site after the incident instead of taking responsibility and assisting in the immediate aftermath.

The eight page status report which will be considered by a bench of chief justice DK Upadhyaya and justice Tejas Karia on Friday added that during investigation it was revealed the building owner Urmila Gupta, her husband Hari Ram Gupta and her son Mahesh Gupta jointly manage the property and they did not obtain land use conversion permission, let out the premises commercially without obtaining the permission from the authorities.

The report said that the owners also did not engage, hire or obtain advice from any unqualified structural engineer/architect in respect of the basement repair and the structural modification carried out at the ground floor shops and the other portions of the building.

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“It has further been found during investigation, that no land-use conversion permission had been obtained by the said persons. The premises were being commercially let out without obtaining the requisite permissions from the competent authorities. The owners had also not engaged, hired or obtained advice from any qualified structural engineer/architect in respect of the basement repair and the construction/structural modification work carried out at the ground-floor shops and other portions of the building. There is no complaint received about this property as per available records maintained at PS South Campus prior to this incident,” the report said.

It added, “That, prima facie, the six arrested accused persons failed to take adequate safety precautions during the construction/repair/modification/alteration work carried out in and around the building, which resulted in a situation endangering human life and ultimately caused deaths and serious injuries to PG students and other persons.