Mumbai: Man With Fake PMO ID & Armed Guard Held At PM Modi Event Venue

An India Today special investigation examines the fatal building collapse at a paying guest accommodation in Delhi's Satya Niketan that claimed seven lives.

An India Today special investigation examines the fatal building collapse at a paying guest accommodation in Delhi's Satya Niketan that claimed seven lives. The First Information Report details how unauthorized floors were constructed on a weak foundation and pillars were dismantled during basement renovation amid heavy rain, leading to culpable homicide charges and the arrest of the owners. A reality check across Satya Niketan and adjoining areas reveals private PGs operating in cramped, hazardous structures with dampness, seepage, and inflated rents, alongside rigid lock-in periods and refused security deposit refunds. The incident has also brought Delhi University's acute hostel deficit to light, where over seven lakh enrolled students compete for merely seven to nine thousand hostel seats. As student organisations stage protests demanding safe housing and compensation for the deceased, civic authorities have initiated action by demolishing twenty-four PGs and sealing seven establishments.

An India Today special investigation reveals the grim reality of student housing operating near a fatal building collapse site where seven people died. An undercover reality check found paying guest accommodations running in unsafe conditions, marked by severe seepage, dampness, darkened staircases, and questionable construction up to five floors on narrow plots in areas like Moti Bagh Village. Brokers and property owners were seen demanding exorbitant rents ranging between nine thousand and eighteen thousand rupees, imposing strict six-month lock-in periods, and exploiting helpless students scrambling for accommodation despite the recent disaster. With over two hundred PGs packed into an area of nearly three hundred houses, the investigation exposes how commercial exploitation continues unchecked, flouting basic safety norms.

A special investigation by News Track examines the building collapse at a paying guest accommodation in Delhi's Satya Niketan that claimed seven lives. According to the First Information Report, building owner Hariram Gupta and his family allegedly added unauthorized floors to a nearly 50-year-old structure with a weak foundation to increase rental income. The collapse occurred during basement renovation work when a load-bearing pillar was dismantled amid heavy rain. Police invoked charges including culpable homicide, rash acts endangering life, and negligence in construction. Hariram Gupta and his wife Urmila Gupta were remanded to 14 days of judicial custody after being apprehended from Rajasthan, while their son received two days of police custody. Following the incident, Delhi authorities initiated a review of paying guest accommodation regulations, leading civic bodies to demolish 24 paying guest facilities and seal seven others across the city.