New Delhi: A day after a boys’ paying guest (PG) accommodation caved in at Satya Niketan in South West Delhi, killing at least seven people — most of them Delhi University students —
and injuring several others, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Monday rolled out a seven-point action plan, calling for a crackdown on the “larger PG mafia” and the construction of government hostels.
The building owner, Hariram Gupta, his wife Urmila and their son were taken into custody on Monday as the 27-hour rescue operation drew to a close.
In a post on X, CJP spokesperson Saurav Das pressed the Delhi government to release compensation for the families of the dead and said “ministerial accountability” must be fixed.
7-Point Charter: From Probe To Hostels
In his post, Das spelt out the CJP’s seven demands, beginning with a call for an “independent criminal investigation” that goes beyond the PG owner to examine the “nexus between the owner, politicians, and other persons”. “The larger PG Mafia needs to be investigated,” Das said.
The party has also pressed for a time-bound, “engineering-grade” structural audit of all buildings used by students — covering schools, colleges and PGs — along with rehabilitation for those displaced, sealing of illegal constructions and penalties for those found violating norms.
On transparency, the outfit has sought a searchable public database that shows whether each student accommodation has valid sanctions and is structurally safe.
To ease the accommodation crunch, the CJP has urged the government to build hostels for Delhi University and other students to cut reliance on private PGs.
The party has demanded compensation of up to ₹1 crore for the families of those killed and ₹20 lakh for the injured.
Citing the 13 district committees set up after the Malviya Nagar hotel fire on June 3, 2026, Das asked that all their records—including enforcement reports and Satya Niketan survey details—be published “WITHIN 48 HOURS”. He alleged the committees had “become defunct within 3 months” and insisted on “full transparency” over their work.
Finally, Das pressed for “ministerial accountability” to be fixed, targeting Delhi’s urban development & planning and education minister Ashish Sood: “Why were the 13 district committees’ work wound down under him?”
HC Directs Top-Level MCD Probe
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Monday directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to conduct an inquiry at the highest executive level into the collapse.
Terming the incident “unfortunate”, a bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia observed that prima facie responsibility does not lie solely with the PG owner but also extends to university authorities and the MCD.
The court directed that the inquiry shall specifically ascertain whether the collapsed building had been constructed pursuant to valid and requisite permissions, identify the officers responsible for any lapse or failure on the part of the authorities, and specify the action, if any, proposed or taken against the officials found responsible for such lapses.
