The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Monday put forward seven demands following the collapse of a boys’ paying guest accommodation in Delhi’s Satya Niketan, calling for an investigation into what it described as a larger “PG mafia” and demanding government hostels for students. At least seven people, most of them Delhi University students, were killed and several others injured when the multi-storey structure collapsed. The PG owner, his wife and son were arrested on Monday.
Independent probe sought
CJP spokesperson Saurav Das demanded an independent criminal investigation extending beyond the owner to examine the alleged nexus involving the property owner, politicians and other individuals. The group also sought an “engineering-grade” structural audit of buildings, including schools, colleges and student accommodations, within a fixed timeframe. It called for rehabilitation of affected students and strict enforcement against unsafe and illegal structures, including sealing unauthorised constructions and penalising their owners.
The organisation demanded creation of a publicly searchable database through which students and families could verify whether a PG or other student accommodation had the necessary sanctions and was structurally safe. It also called on the government to construct hostels for Delhi University and other students, arguing that the shortage of affordable institutional accommodation had pushed large numbers of students towards privately operated PG facilities.
Rs 1 crore compensation demanded
CJP sought compensation of up to Rs 1 crore for the families of those killed and Rs 20 lakh for those injured in the collapse. It also demanded publication of records and enforcement reports of 13 district committees constituted following the Malviya Nagar hotel fire on June 3. The committees had been tasked with identifying and auditing potentially unsafe properties and taking enforcement and sealing action. Das sought disclosure of their records, including surveys conducted in Satya Niketan, within 48 hours and questioned whether their functioning had weakened within three months.
The group further sought “ministerial accountability”, with Das questioning Delhi Urban Development, Planning and Education Minister Ashish Sood over the functioning of the district committees.
HC orders high-level inquiry
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to conduct an inquiry at its highest executive level into the Satya Niketan collapse. A bench comprising Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia observed that, prima facie, responsibility for such incidents could not rest solely with the PG owner and could also extend to university authorities and the civic body.
The court directed the inquiry to determine whether the collapsed building had been constructed with valid permissions, identify officials responsible for any lapses and specify action proposed or taken against those found accountable.