Delhi building collapse: ABVP holds stir, demands MCD commissioner’s resignation; 15 detained

Hundreds of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members attempted to storm into the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD’s) main office on Sunday night, demanding the resignation of Commissioner Sanjeev Khirwar over the collapse of the five-storey private hostel in south-west Delhi’s Satya Niketan.

The incident has claimed at least five lives so far. The protestors broke windows at the premises in a bid to enter the main Civic Centre building at Ajmeri Gate and clashed with police personnel. Around 15 of them were subsequently detained by the police on Sunday night, officers said.

The RSS-affiliated student body alleged that the civic body’s negligence had led to the building collapse. According to security personnel present at the site, protesters broke locks of the gate around 7.30 pm to enter the premises.

They were demanding Khirwar’s resignation and threatened that they would not leave the premises till their demand was met. Slogans of ‘Ram, Ram’, ‘Shame, Shame’ and ‘MCD Commissioner down down’ were also chanted. “A building collapsed near Satya Niketan.

So many students are buried under the rubble, and it is a deeply heartbreaking incident. When such buildings exist in Delhi, it is the MCD’s job to cross-check them. Why doesn’t this administration do its job properly? Students have died in Delhi earlier because of waterlogging in such a building.

People have also died because of fire. And today, it happened because of a building collapse. Is the MCD sleeping?” said Virendra Singh Solanki, national general secretary, ABVP. In a statement, the outfit also demanded an audit into paying guest and rented accommodations in areas where students reside in large numbers.

“We demand an inquiry into the Satya Niketan incident, and that accountability be fixed for negligent PG operators and concerned administrative officials. Additionally, an immediate safety and structural audit of all PGs and rented buildings operating in Delhi’s student-dense areas must be conducted, with strict action taken against any building violating safety standards,” it said.

“Around 150-200 ABVP students had gathered at Civic Centre to protest against today’s incident at Satya Niketan. The protesters entered the Civic Centre through Gate No. 5 and sat outside the main building, raising slogans and protesting against the functioning of the MCD.

Subsequently, some protesters attempted to forcibly enter the main Civic Centre building, resulting in jostling with police personnel,” said DCP Central Rohit Rajbir Singh. He added that around 15 students were detained and taken to Kamla Market police station.

“Action under the Delhi Police Act is being initiated. The rest of the gathering was dispersed by the police. The situation is presently under control,” he said. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), meanwhile, hit out at the BJP’s leadership in the MCD.

“BJP’s corruption in the MCD has once again been exposed. BJP is putting the lives of Delhi residents at risk to fill its own pockets. This is the third major incident in the MCD’s South Zone, where BJP has its chairman,” Leader of Opposition in the MCD House, Ankush Narang, said.

“Earlier, a building collapsed in the chairman’s own ward, after which a building in Malviya Nagar caught fire, and now another building has collapsed today in Satya Niketan. The South Zone is becoming a hub of corruption, and the BJP is the main root…”