Delhi residential building collapses in New Seemapuri, no casualties reported

A residential building collapsed near Idgah Machhli Mandi in Delhi’s New Seemapuri area on Wednesday, raising concerns about building safety in the capital just a month after a deadly collapse in Satya Niketan.

No casualties have been reported so far. Following the incident, residents and other people gathered near the collapsed structure.

Further details are awaited.

The incident comes nearly a month after a five-storey building collapsed in Satya Niketan on September 6, killing seven people.

A Delhi Police investigation into the Satya Niketan collapse, as revealed on September 9, found that renovation work carried out shortly before the incident had allegedly weakened the structure.

According to police, renovation work was undertaken around 10 days before the collapse on the instructions of Mahesh Gupta. The work included levelling the basement with the ground floor, for which around three truckloads of construction debris were filled into the basement.

On the day of the collapse, a wall on the ground floor was allegedly removed to create more space for a shop. Police said the structural alterations, coupled with the additional load from the debris in the basement, compromised the building’s stability and eventually led to its collapse.

Labour contractor Sanoj Kumar, 35, who was allegedly hired for the renovation, was apprehended from Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh and later arrested in connection with the case.

During questioning, Sanoj allegedly told police that Mahesh Gupta was paying him Rs 2,800 per day for the renovation work.

Police also found that the building was being used as PG accommodation. PG operator Shudhanshu Lovneesh, 31, was arrested in the case.