- 6 weeks ago
An India Today special investigation examines the fatal building collapse at a paying guest accommodation in Delhi's Satya Niketan that claimed seven lives.
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00:06Beyond Satya Niketan
00:13A darker side of Delhi's PG business
00:18PG, their profit, your grief
00:26Students, safety for sale
00:33Delhi's PG Mafia caught on camera
00:40Satya Niketan is only the beginning
00:46The rot runs far deeper
00:53From paying guest to preying on guest
00:58Who profits from students' vulnerability
01:02India Today's Special Investigation
01:09Hello and welcome, good evening, you're watching NewsTrack here on India Today. I'm Akshra Tananda Gopal and as we just
01:14gave you a glimpse, coming up on this edition of NewsTrack is a special investigation.
01:19Days after the Delhi building collapse in which seven young lives were snuffed out, we're going to give you a
01:25sense of really what the state of these paying accommodations are, what these PG's look like and why these are
01:33debt traps. These are buildings where these kind of tragedies are waiting to happen. So that detailed special investigative report
01:42coming your way in this edition of NewsTrack.
01:45We're also, of course, getting you the latest updates on the FR that's been filed and the action that's been
01:50taken by the Delhi government in this particular case, in this building collapse.
01:55Even now, questions being raised on exactly who is to blame.
01:59Before I bring you the truth of the PG's that lie beyond the collapse site, let me first take you
02:05through what the FIR has revealed.
02:07The collapse of that PG hostel in Delhi's Satya Niketan is a grim tale of alleged greed. I'm not saying
02:15this, the FIR says so.
02:17According to the FIR, the owners, Hariram Gupta and his family, who, by the way, have been taken into custody,
02:23they allegedly added multiple floors to the nearly 50-year-old structure, essentially to earn more through rental income.
02:30No, they did not have the permits for it. This was a building that was already crumbling because of the
02:34old foundation, which the FIR mentions.
02:37It says the foundation was too weak to bear the additional load. Yet the building had grown from its original
02:43structure to a basement and multiple floors.
02:46And then the final blow on Sunday. Renovation work was underway in the basement. Workers were digging below while a
02:54load-bearing pillar was dismantled.
02:57There was heavy rain in Delhi. The worst time to be conducting this kind of construction work. And so the
03:03structure gave way.
03:05Several people were trapped beneath the debris. Seven eventually lost their lives.
03:09The investigation has invoked charges including culpable homicide, rash acts endangering life and negligence in construction against the building owner
03:17and his family.
03:19Hariram Gupta, his wife, Urmila Gupta, they've been sent to 14 days of judicial custody.
03:24Remember that they were taken into custody from Rajasthan. Their son, who allegedly ran this PG with his father, has
03:31been remanded to two days of police custody.
03:34And as the investigation continues, the Delhi government is looking beyond this one building.
03:39Unfortunately, it takes a tragedy like this to really wake up the authorities. And here too, that's what's happened.
03:45Delhi's PG rules are now finally set for review. After the loss of life, the civic body has sprung into
03:52action.
03:52It's demolished 24 PG's has sealed seven of them. And I can bet you that this is the story across
03:59Delhi, not just one pocket like Satya Niketan.
04:02The unfortunate reality is that after tragedy, you'll see authorities wake up, go on the spree and then forget about
04:07it one week down the line.
04:09But the building collapse in Delhi's Satya Niketan has claimed seven lives and has exposed once again the crumbling infrastructure
04:16in the national capital.
04:18But how did this happen? I explained to you what, in fact, the FIR said.
04:24But we want to take you back to what the structure looked like. How were residents living there?
04:29What did that entire stretch look like? Essentially, this will answer once again why we say that this was a
04:35tragedy waiting to happen.
04:47This is the Satya Niketan area of Delhi. The PG is right here.
04:52Along this narrow, busy stretch, buildings all packed closely on either sides.
04:59And as you can see, there are homes, there are shops, there are small establishments all opening onto the street.
05:05Vehicles are there. People are moving through this particular lane.
05:08And the PG behind me, the building that collapsed, is one of several buildings standing almost wall to wall in
05:14the supremely crowded neighbourhood.
05:16There's very little space between any of the buildings. So this is what the stretch looked like.
05:27Now let's transport you inside the building, inside this PG. Again cramped.
05:33Rooms lined up on both sides of this narrow corridor. It's one after another.
05:38And within these rooms, very small rooms, a large number of young residents staying,
05:43all accommodated within this limited space. Even the common areas beyond this corridor, the passageways that I'm in,
05:51all tightly packed, giving you a sense of just how crowded this building, this PG is.
05:58But here's what was happening. Down in the basement, while all of those students are living above, construction work is
06:05underway.
06:06Workers are moving around their exposed pillars clearly in the basement and that's supporting the entire structure above.
06:16Look at how much of the building actually stands on these few concrete supports.
06:21There are multiple floors as I showed you before. Rooms, all of the weight of all of those floors, those
06:27rooms,
06:27it comes onto these pillars. The pillars are relatively narrow and amid that, these workers continuing to work.
06:34The spaces between them are very tight. They're not spaced out. And yet they're carrying the load of all of
06:40the floors above.
06:42The construction, incomplete. So work is going on. The entire support structure is clearly visible here.
06:50And that gives you a closer look at exactly what's holding the building up. The warning signs are there.
06:55Nobody cared. Nobody did anything about it. It was ignored.
07:02A weak basement, a weak base, pouring rain. In a matter of seconds, it's all gone.
07:07It just takes seconds for the entire building to come crashing down.
07:11The structure suddenly gives way. The upper floors began collapsing into each other.
07:17And then the whole building just falls in on itself. The concrete slabs crash down.
07:24There's nothing left of the walls. And a huge cloud of dust shoots into the air, completely engulfing the entire
07:33structure.
07:34What I showed you before was this now. Floor after floor disappears in front of us.
07:39And the building is reduced to nothing. There's just a heap of concrete and debris left behind.
07:45I've brought you this rooftop view because that gives you a sense of the sheer speed, the sheer scale of
07:52the collapse.
07:53That multi-storied building with so many rooms, with so many youngsters disappearing, even before you can blink.
08:03And let's now get you an India Today special investigation of what exactly happened, not just in this case, but
08:11beyond the collapse site as well.
08:14Seven people are dead. And yet just metres away, the business of student housing continues.
08:20India Today's special investigation team has found a disturbing gap between what the rules demand and what students are actually
08:28being offered.
08:28Are we really surprised because the kind of images that we've shown you of these small rooms that they live
08:34in and yet pay exorbitant rates for?
08:37This is what essentially is happening, that businessmen are milking what they can out of these students.
08:43Our reporters went undercover and found PGs operating in buildings with dampness, with seepage, questionable construction rooms being rented with
08:51a six month lock in period.
08:53Landlords, brokers openly discussing demand, students unable to do anything, scrambling for accommodation, taking whatever they can get and shelling
09:03out big bucks for it.
09:04With hundreds of PGs packed into the area, the question is no longer just where will students live?
09:10Here's a look at part one of our eye-opening report.
09:18At least seven innocent lives snuffed out, buried under the debris of apathy.
09:27But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
09:31The rot runs much deeper.
09:36India today's reality check found that the rules on paper and the reality on the ground are worlds apart.
09:48Just 100 metres from the collapsed site is Sai Properties.
09:55A five-storey PG operates inside the building.
09:59Meet Dhandraj, the broker, renting out rooms.
10:10This isn't our sacar 건 difference.
10:33What do you see?
10:338th Raj, and the 1st PM, and...
10:40And we had to sign another day.
10:45We had to sign an agreement.
10:54We had to sign the 6th PM, we had to sign the 6th PM.
10:57Okay, so we had to sign the 6th PM,
11:04One month's rent, six month lock-in, and then we walked inside, where even in broad daylight,
11:13darkened stairs greet us, along with seepage, dampness and filth.
11:52Meanwhile, Dhanraj revealed that after the building collapsed, students have been coming
11:57to him, looking for rooms.
12:35And it gets worse.
12:37Next door in Moti Bagh village, a house on a barely passable lane, a 50 square yard plot.
12:46New rooms have been constructed right up to the fifth floor.
12:55Which floor is this?
12:57This is the fourth floor.
12:59For me, this is the fifth floor.
13:03The ground floor was fifth.
13:06It is the fourth floor, right?
13:12Then the ground floor was fifth.
13:14Did I have created this now?
13:16Yes, I have used it now.
13:34Three rooms on every floor.
13:37No clear agreement requirement.
13:40We spoke to Virvati on the phone.
13:42She quoted a rent of 14,000 rupees for the room on the fifth floor.
14:23We met Om just a few steps away from the accident site, who gave us a glimpse of the scale.
14:53Seven dead, families torn apart.
14:57But the hunt for profit from student housing continues.
15:02The PG racket stands, and one question remains.
15:07The question is, for how long?
15:11An India Today Special Investigation Team report by Nitin Jain.
15:20Delhi University is one of India's biggest education dreams.
15:24But for thousands of students, getting admission is only half the battle.
15:29And then, hostel seats, severely limited.
15:32Students are being pushed into private PG's.
15:34And these rented rooms that we've spoken of, that we've shown you ample examples of,
15:38that are cramped spaces.
15:40There are safety concerns, obviously, with the incident that's happened.
15:43And amid all of that, soaring rent rates.
15:46All of this, unfortunately, is the norm.
15:48The Satya Niketan building collapse has now brought that hidden crisis into sharp focus.
15:53We get you now a ground report, where we focus on the duo hostel shortage,
15:58the unsafe PG reality that students have no choice but to live in.
16:13The Satya Niketan building collapse has exposed a grim reality for Delhi University's students.
16:22For many, getting into DU is only the beginning of the struggle.
16:26Because once they make it here, finding a safe place to live becomes the real challenge.
16:33And the reason is a massive hostel crisis.
16:41As per reports, 7 lakh students were enrolled in Delhi University in 2025.
16:47But with just 7,000 to 9,000 hostel seats, as many as 100 students are competing for every single
16:55seat.
16:57A staggering mismatch.
16:59And the result?
17:01Thousands of students are pushed into private PG's and rented rooms around the university.
17:11Cramped spaces.
17:15Unsafe buildings.
17:19And rents that keep rising.
17:22The water logging is so cramped.
17:24The forest is so cold.
17:26The past is also a fire breakout.
17:28The short circuit is also a fire breakout.
17:30But there is no reaction or resolution.
17:34We do not get any results.
17:35We do so work with the CUT exam.
17:37After coming, their dreams are completed.
17:40There is not a hostel in the college.
17:43So, we don't get the nearest point,
17:44which is the Satya Niketan in South Campus.
17:46So, most of the students who study in South Campus,
17:49live here in PG.
17:51And you can see that the place is very congested.
17:53So, we don't have any choice.
17:55We have to live here.
17:56People all over the country come here to study in Delhi University.
18:00That is one thing.
18:01So, it's just the responsibility of the administration to construct a hostel.
18:08At Satya Niketan, students living next to the collapsed building
18:11are now packing their bags.
18:13Not because their course is over.
18:15But because they fear for their lives.
18:20It's a very bad situation here.
18:22Because all the buildings are attached.
18:23If there is a big earthquake,
18:25then everything will go up.
18:26But still, we don't mind,
18:27because there is such a big incident.
18:28So, we are going to go home.
18:30Because our parents don't mind now.
18:33Now, cracks have appeared in adjoining buildings.
18:37Students are leaving.
18:38While some allege landlords are refusing to return their security deposits.
18:46Now, we want our security back.
18:48These people are making me keep doing it.
18:49I have 16 thousand rents.
18:51I have 16 thousand rents.
18:52My 16 thousand rents.
18:53We have 3-4 thousand rents.
18:55We have 3-4 thousand rents.
18:56We have a light bill.
18:57We have a light bill.
18:58We have a light bill.
18:58We have a 40-6.
18:58We have a 24-6 unit.
18:59We have a common area with daily 5-6.
19:02If a child comes in once,
19:03we have 40-6.
19:05We have 45-6.
19:11And this isn't just Satya Niketan.
19:14Our reality check in Nehru Vihar and Mukherjee Nagar near Delhi's North Campus found students living in cramped PG's, some
19:23with damaged ceilings and serious safety concerns.
19:44Some of the walls, the plaster has been hit, but these conditions are difficult to take place in these conditions.
19:53We are living in a fifth floor. There is a small tree, and the walls are falling apart from all
20:00areas of the ceiling.
20:02Sir, here is a very bad situation. I am talking to you, but no one knows that this is a
20:06collapse.
20:19Every year lacks dream of making it to Delhi University, but for many that dream comes
20:26with an unsafe PG, cramped rooms and unaffordable rents.
20:34The Satya Niketan Collapse has exposed a crisis far bigger than one building.
20:41Getting into DU is the dream, finding a safe place to live is the struggle, and somewhere
20:48in between, the DU dream is dying.
21:03So many students we have spoken to are now living in fear, worried that at any moment
21:08a building next to them, or even the one they live in, could come crashing down.
21:13Cracks in adjoining buildings are forcing them to move out.
21:16Some students allege that they are being even denied their security deposits.
21:20With limited hostel space at Delhi University, the exodus is also highlighting the shortage
21:25of safe and affordable student accommodation in the area.
21:29We spoke to several such students who are now out on the streets unsure of what to do next.
21:33Take a look.
21:45Seven lives lost buried beneath the rubble of a building that collapsed in Delhi's Satya Niketan.
21:54For those who have survived, the nightmare continues.
21:59Students living in adjoining buildings are now being forced to leave.
22:04Fleeing and fearing for their lives as cracks appear in buildings around them and with fear
22:12of another building giving way.
22:18Students allege landlords are refusing to return their security deposits if they leave before
22:24the 11 month rental agreement ends.
22:27.
22:27.
22:27.
22:27.
22:27.
23:18Students say their agreements are typically for 11 months
23:23and leaving midway may mean losing the security deposit
23:27unless another tenant replaces them.
23:54In the building adjacent to the one that collapsed,
23:57the MCD is moving students' belongings out flow by flow.
24:01And one student says Sunday changed everything.
24:35Behind this departure is a much bigger problem.
24:39Delhi University has limited hostel capacity.
24:44Most Delhi University colleges do not have hostels,
24:47leaving students dependent on PG accommodation
24:50and rented rooms in cramped by-lanes.
24:56And the anger is spilling onto the streets.
25:00Student organizations from the left groups
25:03to the NSUI and the ABVP are all protesting.
25:07Their demand, hostel for students
25:10and compensation for the families of those killed.
25:17Forced out of unsafe homes,
25:20fighting to recover their deposits
25:23and with nowhere left to go.
25:26They came to Delhi to build a future.
25:28Today, they're simply fighting to save their present
25:33and to have a safe play to stay.
25:36With Piyush Mishra and Amit Bharadwaj,
25:39Bureau Report, India Today.
25:46This tragedy, as is always the case,
25:48will be forgotten by authorities in a day or two.
25:50The crackdown that you're seeing right now
25:52will be effective for the next 24, 48 hours,
25:55after which they'll hope everyone moves on from this tragedy.
25:57But we're not going to.
25:58We're going to keep the lens on this particular case
26:01and highlight the crumbling infrastructure
26:03in the national capital
26:04because it needs to be highlighted.
26:06It needs to be uncovered.
26:07It needs to be exposed.
26:09That's all we have time for in this edition of NewsTrack.
26:11Thanks for tuning in.
26:12Good night.