Five students were among the seven people killed when a five-story building housing a boys’ hostel came down near Delhi University’s South Campus on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The Supreme Court of India said on September 8 that it would hear on September 10 a plea seeking a time-bound safety audit of private hostels and paying guest accommodations around Delhi’s colleges.
Police arrested three members of the family that owns the building on charges including culpable homicide and negligence, as of September 8. They are Hariram Gupta, 81, a retired Indian Air Force sergeant; his wife, Urmila Gupta, 75, in whose name the property was registered; and their son, Mahesh Gupta, 52.
Two more arrests followed. Police said on September 9 that they had taken labor contractor Sanoj Kumar, 35, apprehended in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh, and PG operator Sudhanshu Lovneesh, 31, who ran Hostel Daze with Shubham Tyagi. Tyagi remains absconding, police said. Sudhanshu and the contractor were each sent to two-day police custody, as of September 9.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi suspended five officials a day after the collapse, among them the deputy commissioner of the south zone. The Delhi High Court called the collapse “most unfortunate” and ordered a detailed inquiry.
An initial investigation found that the building had permission for only G+1 floors but was illegally expanded to five, according to reporting on September 9. That same day, local authorities ran a demolition drive of unsafe structures in the area.
Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan, the bench hearing the matter, said on September 8 that they were mooting an examination of building safety issues on a pan-India basis. The bench added that it would consider transferring the Satya Niketan case to itself from the Delhi High Court.
Hostel Daze, a private boys’ paying guest hostel, collapsed at about 1:30 p.m. The building stood in a congested bylane of Satya Niketan, a South West Delhi locality packed with eateries and rented rooms that cater to students. Teams pulled back at about 5:10 p.m. on Monday, closing a rescue effort that had run more than 27 hours. Among the dead students were Abhishek, 20, of Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, and Yuvraj Soni, 20, of Durg, Chhattisgarh, along with Pawan, 17, of Auraiya, Uttar Pradesh; Arpit Jahaj, 19, of Dewas, Madhya Pradesh; and Akshat Singh Yadav, 18, of Katni, Madhya Pradesh. A laborer, Surinder Singh, 75, also died. AIIMS identified the two victims who were not students as laborers Param Lal Kori and Surinder Singh; its list gave the student’s name as Abhishek Kumar and his home as Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh, and put Arpit Jaj’s age at 20. Injuries were reported in another five people, three of them critically. Residents said 40 to 50 people could have been trapped under the debris.
Police said on September 9 that three truckloads of debris were filled into the basement during renovation days earlier, and that a ground-floor wall obstructing space meant for a shop was removed on the day of the collapse. “The building could not withstand the load after the wall was removed and ultimately collapsed,” a senior police officer said.
Delhi Police are examining two Hostel Daze tenant agreements stating owners are not responsible “for any casualties or risk.” One clause reads: “The PG authorities are not responsible against any casualties or risk to me (student),” a Delhi Police officer told ThePrint on September 8.
Sunday Afternoon in a Crowded Bylane
The call reached Delhi Fire Services at about 1:34 p.m. Fire tenders, police and National Disaster Response Force teams were then sent to the site.
