‘We saw him happy, now we see his dead body’: Families mourn students killed in Delhi PG collapse

A five-storey boys’ PG accommodation in Delhi’s Satya Niketan collapsed on Sunday, killing five students and two labourers.

“Arpit had big dreams and was working hard to make them come true. He wanted to study in a big city and we sent him to Delhi. He was his mother’s favourite,” his father said.

In a matter of minutes, the hopes and dreams of five students came crashing down after a five-storey paying guest accommodation for boys collapsed in south-west Delhi’s Satya Niketan on Sunday. One labourer, as well as one man who still has to be identified, were also killed in the incident. At least two people are currently critical at AIIMS.

The incident, which took place near the heart of Delhi University’s south campus, has sent shockwaves in the city, reiterating the fragility of the Capital’s infrastructure, the lack of proper regulatory norms, and laxity in the enforcing the ones that exist.

Arpit Jahaj, 18 – Student

Arpit had returned to the city from his hometown in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, just hours before the building came down. “We had just celebrated Rakshabandhan holiday together, saw him happy and playful, and now we are seeing him as a dead body,” said his father, Bhupendra Jahaj, who works as a cab driver.

The 18-year-old was preparing for the Chartered Accountancy examinations and was a second-year student at the Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma (ARSD) College.

“We got a call from Arpit’s friend on Sunday night about the building collapse and by the time we reached here, nothing was left and he was gone,” his father recalled, standing outside the mortuary of AIIMS trauma centre, waiting to receive his son’s last remains.

His friends searched all night for him in the remains of the building and only later did they learn that he had died. The hospital said they had received a body matching the identity. “But when we went to identify him, we could not because the body was badly injured. Around 6.30 am (on Monday), the family reached the hospital and his mother identified him by his birth marks,” his friend Yuvraj told HT.

Arpit had been living in the PG for nearly one-and-a-half years. “Everyone is telling us how bad the condition of the PG was. I wish my son had told me before,” his father said.

Following the postmortem, Arpit’s family donated his corneas at the hospital. “Maybe he will be able to see the world, even after he is not with us.”

Yuvraj Soni, 20 – Student

Like Arpit, Yuvraj was also a CA aspirant. He was a second-year student at Motilal Nehru College.

He had been living in the north campus till a few days ago. “Yuvraj had just moved to this PG and it took him away from us,” said his friend Aryan.

His sister Nikki and his brother Vivek were at the hospital, but all they could do was express their shock and disbelief. They had no words left with which to share the impact of the tragedy.

Akshat Singh Yadav, 18 – Student

Akshat, like many others in the country, had spent the last few days with his family at home —for him, in Katni, Madhya Pradesh — for Rakshabandhan.

“Everything was normal for us. He had just left home after a vacation and was settling back into his routine, until we got a call from one of his friends telling us that a building collapse had happened and Akshat had been injured,” said his father Manta Singh Yadav.

He was a second-year BCom student at PGDAV College. “Akshat has been living in this PG since August 16, 2025. We did not know that the PG had structural problems. He never informed us,” his father added. “We assumed that our child was safe away from us.”

Abhishek Kumar, 20 – Student

When Abhishek was pulled out from under the rubble, he had been unconscious. Hours later, he passed away at the hospital due to the severity of his injuries.

A native of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, he was two years into his BCom at Motilal Nehru College.

Family friend Krish Kandari alleged that the PG had always been in poor condition from inside. “I couldn’t stay there with him for even two days,” he said. “There needs to be strict action against the PG owners and others responsible for the death of my friend and others.”

Krish had rushed to Delhi after learning of the accident. “We had always been together since childhood. He was like a brother to me.”