New Delhi, 7 September

The death toll in the building collapse in Delhi's Satya Niketan rose to seven on Monday as search and rescue operations entered the second day, with 12 people rescued from the debris and the owner of the building, Hariram, arrested by Delhi Police in Bhiwadi in Rajasthan.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta visited the site again on the second day to take stock of the rescue work, and warned of strict action against officials responsible for the tragedy. Within hours of her visit, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) deputy commissioner of South zone Rakesh Kumar and four engineers were placed under suspension.

According to Gupta, nearly 80 per cent of the debris had been removed from the site where the around 30-year-old five-storey building stood before it came crashing down on Sunday afternoon, and rescuers were clearing rubble from the basement.

The chief minister also directed officials to seal all five-storey structures in the city.

The building, which housed a boys' paying guest accommodation near Delhi University's South Campus, collapsed around 1.30 pm while repair work was underway at its basement. Locals alleged the basement was waterlogged that could have weakened the structure.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said a total of 12 people were brought to the hospital, of whom three -- Asgar Ali, 30, Neeraj Bawa, 19, and Aditya Kumar, 19 -- were in critical condition. The hospital said the identities of those killed were yet to be ascertained.

"A total of seven people have died, including a 75-year-old man. One person was discharged and one, Nitish Chib, 19, is in a stable condition," the hospital said in a statement.

At the AIIMS trauma Centre, families and friends struggled for answers as they tried to find out about their loved ones who were killed or injured in the incident.

A mother waited for her 19-year-old Delhi University student son to return home, refusing to eat unless he fed her with his own hands.

Some students recalled their plan to attend a concert with Arpit, one of the seven people killed in the incident.

Akshit, 18, a first-year B.Com student, had returned to Delhi from his hometown on September 5. His mother identified his body by a mole on his neck and a birthmark on his leg, she said.

She said she had checked five or six PGs in the area before choosing this one for him as it had an air conditioner and a washing machine, allowing him to focus solely on his studies.

Nitish, an injured second-year B.Com student from Jammu, told his brother about what he witnessed moments before the building collapsed.

According to his brother, Nitish said he heard the sound of water rushing and ran to his friend’s room. Before they could make their way downstairs, the building collapsed.

On Sunday, the Delhi government had ordered a magisterial inquiry into the collapse.

"Following an on-site review and based on the preliminary assessment, the chief minister has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident and an FIR against the building owner," the Delhi Chief Minister's Office had said in a post on X.

The Delhi Police has registered a case against building owner Hariram and others at the South Campus Police Station. They have been booked on charges including culpable homicide, negligence in the upkeep of a structure and endangering the safety of others.

An officer said, "Hariram has been apprehended from Bhiwadi. Further examination is ongoing in connection with the case." A lookout notice was issued against him by the Delhi Police.

The MCD suspended South zone deputy commissioner Rakesh Kumar and four engineers pending disciplinary proceedings.

According to the suspension orders accessed by PTI, the other officials suspended are Superintending Engineer Ranvir Singh, Executive Engineer (Building) Lalit Kumar Goel, Assistant Engineer (Building) Sunil Chauhan and Junior Engineer (Building) Ashish Kumar, all from the South Zone.

The civic body also issued an order, asking the owner of a building adjacent to the collapsed building to demolish the structure within three days after it was found to be in a "ruinous and dangerous condition".

The incident has prompted scrutiny of the condition of buildings in the area, the role of civic authorities and the circumstances under which repair work was being carried out at the collapsed structure.