Saket building collapse: Owner earned Rs 10 lakh monthly in rent; hoped to get more from new floors, probe reveals
On Tuesday, police served notices to the owners of the offices operating from the building. They have been asked to submit documents related to their rent agreements with Sejwal.
Debris scattered around after a three-storey commercial building collapsed on Saturday evening near the Saket Metro station, in New Delhi, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (PTI Photo) The four-storey building that collapsed at Saidulajab near Saket Metro station on Saturday, claiming six lives, had been rented out by its owner Karambir Sejwal to various companies and corporates for around Rs 10 lakh per month, sources in the police said on Tuesday.
While the offices were operating from the ground, first and third floors of the building, the second floor had remained vacant for the last few months.
Construction of two additional floors — structures in this area cannot legally have more than ground plus three storeys — had been undertaken through a builder, Manish Khatri, said police.
According to the sources, Khatri is the relative of Sejwal – who was arrested from his farmhouse in Green Avenue, in Southwest Delhi’s Vasant Kunj on Monday – and has allegedly been involved in several illegal construction projects in Saidulajab and nearby areas.
Khatri, who lives with his family in Neb Sarai, has been missing since the building collapsed. Police teams have conducted a raid at his residence but failed to locate him.
Police sources said Khatri had been awarded the contract to construct the two additional floors around three months ago. “He had engaged a contractor for the work. The contractor would also be questioned and could be arrested if required,” said a source.
According to the police, the probe so far has found that the building had been constructed eight years ago and that its basement was not structurally capable of bearing the additional load of two more floors.
“One extra floor had already been constructed, while work on another was underway. However, construction had reportedly been halted for several days due to a payment dispute between Khatri and the contractor,” said the source.
A few days before the building collapsed, excavation work was carried out in its basement to install a water tank. The police suspect that this may have further weakened the structure.
On Tuesday, police served notices to the owners of the offices operating from the building. They have been asked to submit documents related to their rent agreements with Sejwal.
According to the sources, each office was paying a rent of Rs 2 lakh-Rs 2.5 lakh per month to Sejwal. “He hoped to get another Rs 5 lakh by renting out the two additional floors,” the source said.
“Though documents related to the ownership of this property are yet to be recovered, Sejwal was arrested after several electricity and water meters registered in his name were recovered from the site of the building collapse,” the source added. “Police are also questioning why he has put up the hoarding of ‘Zaildar Estate’ outside the lane where the building was located.”
The sources further said that Sejwal has been asked to provide all documents related to the property to establish ownership of the plot and land. “The probe has further revealed that Karambir inherited the plot as part of a property division from his father, who was a prominent landlord in Saidulajab. Several nearby properties are also owned by Karambir, his brother and other relatives,” the source said.
The six dead included five medical and engineering graduates preparing for various competitive exams and one woman who ran a makeshift eatery next to the building.
The students were eating at her eatery when the building collapsed and the structure fell on the eatery, burying them under the debris.
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