Saket building collapse: Police had flagged illegal construction to MCD in March

Despite explicit warnings from local police regarding illegal additional floors, civic authorities failed to act before the fatal structural collapse near Saket Metro station.

Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Delhi Fire Services continued the operation until late on Sunday evening amid fears that more people could still be trapped under the debris. (Express Photo)

Written by: Alok Singh, Drishti Jain

5 min readNew DelhiJun 1, 2026 01:20 PM IST First published on: Jun 1, 2026 at 11:39 AM IST

The Delhi Police had written to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on two occasions in March about ongoing illegal construction atop the four-storey building near Saket Metro station that collapsed on Saturday evening, The Indian Express has learned.

Sources said police communicated with the civic body after a local beat constable noticed the construction that allegedly went beyond the permissible limit. Buildings in the area can be up to four storeys high, but several structures reportedly have five to six storeys.

The Mehrauli police station wrote to the office of the MCD Deputy Commissioner (South) on March 3 and March 10, flagging the alleged violations and offering any assistance that the MCD might need. Sources said the MCD acknowledged receipt of the letters, but no follow-up action was reportedly initiated.

Six people, including five young medical and engineering graduates, were killed after a large portion of the structure at the address Khasra No. 261 on Westend Marg in Saidulajab came down in a heap of rubble on an adjacent tin-roof structure that functioned as a canteen for students and other local people.

The deceased have been identified as Ravi (24), Kapil (28), Nalin Ray (23), Alok (24), Ekta (24), and Parvati (35) who, along with her family, ran the eatery. All the dead were in the canteen at the time.

The owner of the building and contrator have been identified as Karambir and Manish Khatri; both are on the run and police teams are conducting raids to nab them.

Sources said the Karambir, a resident of Vasant Kunj, was allegedly constructing two additional floors, and had given the contract for the job to Khatri, a South Delhi-based contractor.

Initial investigations suggest that the building’s foundation and basement structure were weak. The building housed the offices of startups and other private companies. The owner reportedly owns several plots across South Delhi, and earns rental income from them.

The building itself was mostly empty when it collapsed around 7.15 pm. An individual who was on the ground floor was pulled out from the debris and admitted to the hospital.

Police have registered an FIR under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 290 (negligent conduct with regard to buildings), and 125(a) (act endangering life or personal safety) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 (BNS), and launched a manhunt for the owner and contractor, both of whom have been missing since the incident.

It has also emerged that work at the site had been stopped a few days ago because the contractor was having some payment issues with the workers.

Following the collapse, two MCD engineers — Sudesh Singh Chauhan, Assistant Engineer (Building Department 2) South Zone and Amar Jain, Junior Engineer, (Building Department 2) South Zone — responsible for the area were suspended for alleged dereliction of duty and negligence. Asked whether construction work had been underway at the site, a senior MCD official said it was possible – and claimed that the now-suspended engineers had, on May 27, booked the property for alleged violations.

“This building was constructed in 2013 with a ground floor and three upper floors. A new fourth-floor construction had recently been undertaken. The officers should have acted earlier and initiated demolition proceedings,” the MCD official said. Witnesses to the incident said the structure had collapsed “like a pack of cards”.

Also Read | ‘Father was a farmer, family hoped he would become a doctor’: Dreams, lives cut short in Saket building collapse

Shivam, a medical student, said a loud noise had emanated from inside the building. “As we rushed forward, we thought a lift had collapsed. But within seconds, the entire structure started to come down, and we ran back. It then collapsed like a pack of cards in a huge cloud of dust,” he said.

More than a dozen people — mostly medical and engineering graduates — were present inside the kitchen that was crushed. The library of a coaching institute on the other side of the structure was also damaged.

“The police arrived quickly, but the specialised rescue teams took longer to reach the site. Valuable time was lost,” a witness who gave his name as Aarav alleged.

DCP (South) Anant Mittal and Mehrauli SHO Inspector Ritesh led the initial rescue operation. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Delhi Fire Services continued the operation until late on Sunday evening amid fears that more people could still be trapped under the debris.

A total 14 people were rescued from the debris and taken to AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital. Among the injured are Tarun Kumar (26) from Gurgaon, Saika Khan (27) from Bihar, Neelam Yadav (25) from Saidulajab, Aditya Sharma (24) from Saidulajab, Kshitij Pratap (25) from Noida, Anuj Dixit (25) from Saket, Aastha (25) from Saidulajab, and Vishal (24) from Saket.

MCD officials said that beginning Monday, a survey of high-rise buildings would be carried out. “If any violation is found and the explanation is unsatisfactory, we will seal the premises or direct evacuation and demolition,” an official said.