Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta speaks with doctors and health officials at the AIIMS Trauma Centre and takes stock of the health condition of individuals who have been brought here after being rescued from the Satya Niketan building collapse site, in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday (September 6, 2026) ordered a magisterial probe into the Satya Niketan house collapse incident that claimed the lives of five DU students and injuries to several more.
Ms. Gupta visited the site of the deadly building collapse in Satya Niketan on Sunday evening (September 6, 2026), to oversee rescue operations and ensure that all agencies are working in tandem to rescue those still trapped under the debris, even as Opposition leaders called for accountability and a relook at the student housing crisis in the national capital.
Standing on the first floor of a temple adjacent to the site, Ms. Gupta declared that whoever is responsible for the collapse will not be spared, whether it is the building’s owner or a government official.
“The building was old, and some construction and renovation work was underway. Our priority is to save the lives of these children first. All officials are present here, and there will be no shortage of any kind. However, the guilty will not be spared,” she said.
‘Housing crisis now life-threatening’
Calling the incident “heartbreaking” and “alarming”, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said that Congress workers and volunteers from its student wing, the National Students’ Union of India, were at the disaster site and ready to provide every possible assistance.
Students’ housing struggles have now turned life-threatening, he said. “Due to the lack of good hostels in colleges or universities, students are forced to live in PG accommodations, 40-40 at a time under one roof, in inhumane conditions. Every student’s life is precious, and their protection must be ensured under all circumstances,” Mr. Gandhi said in a post on X.
Abhijeet Dipke of the Cockroach Janta Party, which led the massive student protests that rocked the capital last month, also asked why youth who want to study cannot be provided with basic facilities. “How many students will continue to lose their life due to the failure of the system or the government? And why does it only happen to students from poor backgrounds. The infrastructure only collapses where students live and study. Never does it happen where a politician lives or works,” he said.
‘Government negligence’
Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who heads the Aam Aadmi Party, blamed government negligence for the “tragic” and “alarming” collapse.
“Due to the government’s negligence in Delhi, many such accidents have already occurred. The government must wake up from its slumber. There is a need to take large-scale action to ensure the safety of citizens,” Mr. Kejriwal posted on X.
‘Senior officials must face the music’
The AAP’s Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj said nothing has changed since a similar incident in Saket a few months ago. “In the name of audits, crores will be looted by various departments that will seal establishments for a few days until money is exchanged. But nothing will change,” Mr. Bharadwaj said in a video message.
Former Congress MCD councillor Abhishek Dutt called for strict action against corrupt officials and the leaders responsible for the incident. “Not just action against minor junior engineers — senior officials must also be held accountable, and the guilty should be dismissed from their jobs,” Mr. Dutt said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed his condolences. “The collapse of a building at Satya Niketan, Delhi is distressing. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. Authorities are working at the site and assisting those affected in the mishap,” he said in a quote posted by the Prime Minister’s Office on X.
Published – September 06, 2026 09:13 pm IST
