CJP demands accountability over South Delhi hostel collapse; Dipke questions PM

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Sunday (September 6, 2026) demanded accountability and a safety audit of all paying guest (PG) hostels in Delhi after a five-storey hostel building collapsed in the city’s Satya Niketan area, leaving five dead and several trapped.

CJP founder and convenor Abhijeet Dipke criticised the government’s priorities over educational infrastructure, saying students were being forced to live and study in unsafe conditions even as political establishments received attention and resources.

A CJP team led by its organisation co-in-charge and north zone lead Deepak Baliyan and national joint secretary Balakrishna Shukla reached the collapse site near Delhi University’s South Campus and joined residents and emergency personnel in the rescue efforts.

Mr. Dipke, in a post on X, questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi over student safety, pointing out that Mr. Modi visited Delhi University a day earlier and invoked the term “dimagi naxal” in his political speech, but spoke little about the condition of educational infrastructure.

“Today, a hostel building in South Campus has collapsed, with students feared trapped under the debris. The number of casualties is still unknown,” Mr. Dipke said.

“How long must students be made to pay the price for failing infrastructure?” he asked, demanding safe classrooms, hostels, and basic dignity for students.

“Adivasi students are dying in tribal belts due to a lack of care and support, and even students studying in the national capital are not safe,” Mr. Dipke said.

“Is that really too much to ask?” he said, asking whether the Prime Minister would visit DU again and explain how the collapse happened.

Rescue operations were underway at the collapsed building, named Hostel Daze by its owners.

The CJP said its volunteers would remain at the site to assist families and monitor the rescue operation until all students are accounted for.

The outfit also demanded a swift inquiry into municipal oversight of student accommodations in the area and a safety audit of PG hostels across Delhi.

The on-ground CJP team said that even before emergency services arrived, the residents had begun rescue efforts with bare hands.

According to locals, the building had around 15 rooms, with two to three students staying in each, and construction or repair work was underway in the basement.

Many of the hostel residents are from Kerala, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and are enrolled at Motilal Nehru College, Atma Ram Sanatan Dharm College and Sri Venkateswara College, located across the road.

Residents also raised concerns about the structural safety of other buildings in the locality, where several residential properties have been converted into student PG accommodations.

Mr. Dipke also referred to the curtailment of Union Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Goa after the news of the building collapse.

“While grand BJP Bhavans are being built across states, students are being forced to study and live in unsafe and inadequate infrastructure. This is not merely a question of buildings; it is about the future and safety of India’s young people,” Dipke said.

He called on the government to prioritise safe schools, functional hostels and quality educational infrastructure over “grandiose political establishments”.

Mr. Shah, who is on a three-day tour to Goa, visited the party office at Chimbel village near Panaji and inaugurated it. While the event was underway, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced its curtailment due to a building crash in the national capital.