NEW DELHI - The owner of a five-storey building that collapsed in Delhi's Satya Niketan area has been apprehended from Bhiwadi in Rajasthan, Delhi Police confirmed Monday, a day after the structure came down and killed at least seven people.

Police identified the owner as Hariram Gupta. An officer told reporters, "Hariram Gupta has been apprehended from Bhiwadi. Further examination is ongoing in connection with the case." According to news agency ANI, Gupta was located following a multi-state search involving ten police teams after he could not be traced in the immediate aftermath of the collapse.

The Collapse and Rescue Operations

The five-storey building, which housed a boys' paying guest (PG) accommodation near Delhi University's South Campus, collapsed around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday while repair work was underway on the decades-old structure. Delhi Police said Monday that seven people had died and twelve others had been rescued from the debris. Rescue operations, involving the Delhi Fire Service, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Delhi Disaster Management Authority alongside Delhi Police, continued into Monday.

Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Commissioner Sanjeev Khirwar confirmed the death toll, saying, "Unfortunately, we have lost seven lives." By Monday, civic officials said roughly 80 percent of the debris had been cleared, with rubble from the basement still to be removed.

Delhi Police had earlier issued a lookout notice against Gupta after he went untraceable following the collapse. Police at the South Campus Police Station registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Gupta and others under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 290 (negligent construction activity) and 125(a) (endangering the life or personal safety of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Gupta is currently in police custody for questioning; no further charges have been announced as of this report.

Official Response and MCD Suspensions

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said Monday that preliminary findings pointed to water accumulation in the building's basement, combined with ongoing repair work on the old structure, as the cause of the collapse - a preliminary assessment, not a final finding, pending further investigation. She said residents of the collapsed building and adjoining unsafe structures had been evacuated, and that an adjacent building deemed "extremely dangerous" would be demolished once debris clearance was complete. She announced that a structural audit would be conducted of similar old buildings citywide, and said the Delhi government was drafting a policy that would require owners of ageing buildings to submit structural audit reports before operating PG accommodations, nursing homes, schools or other commercial establishments.

The MCD separately suspended five officials, including the Deputy Commissioner of the South Zone, Rakesh Kumar, along with a superintendent engineer, an executive engineer, an assistant engineer and a junior engineer attached to the zone, pending inquiry into alleged administrative lapses. The civic body has also begun issuing demolition notices to damaged buildings near the collapse site, including one to a neighbouring structure it said posed a threat to residents and passersby.

Rajya Sabha member Manoj Kumar Jha wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking urgent intervention following the incident, according to reports.

Key Facts of the Incident

  • Location: Satya Niketan, near Delhi University's South Campus, New Delhi
  • Date/Time: Around 1:30 p.m., Sunday, September 6, 2026
  • Structure: Five-storey building used as a boys' PG accommodation
  • Casualties: Seven confirmed deaths; twelve rescued
  • Apprehension: Owner Hariram Gupta taken into custody from Bhiwadi, Rajasthan
  • Charges: Sections 105, 290 and 125(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

Verified Background on the Structure

According to MCD officials cited in news reports, the collapsed structure stood on a roughly 55-square-yard plot in a resettlement colony where the original building permission was for a ground-plus-one (G+1) structure; the building had grown to five storeys (G+4) and no formal building plan had been approved for the additional floors. Officials have also said the building was decades old.

Civic officials said enforcement action against unauthorized construction in the area is an ongoing process: the MCD stated that in the preceding three months, roughly 960 demolitions were carried out citywide, 407 buildings were sealed, and notices were served to about 1,500 buildings for sealing or demolition. In August, demolition orders had reportedly been passed for three to four buildings in the same locality, though it has not been confirmed whether the collapsed structure was among them.

The exact cause of the collapse remains under investigation. Questions about possible unauthorized construction, regulatory lapses, and the conduct of civic officials are part of the ongoing inquiry, and no final determination of cause or culpability has yet been announced.

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Reader questions

Frequently asked questions

Who is the owner of the collapsed Delhi building?

The owner of the collapsed Satya Niketan building has been identified as Hariram Gupta. He was apprehended by Delhi Police in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan.

How many casualties were reported in the Satya Niketan building collapse?

Officials have confirmed that seven people died in the collapse, while twelve others were successfully rescued from the debris.

What action was taken against civic officials after the collapse?

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) suspended five officials, including the Deputy Commissioner of the South Zone and four engineers, pending an inquiry into alleged administrative lapses.

Corrections and updates

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