Delhi Home and Urban Development Minister, Ashish Sood, has ordered a magisterial enquiry into a building collapse in New Seemapuri that claimed four lives earlier this month, an official said on Friday.

The enquiry will be led by the District Magistrate (North-East), said the official in a statement, adding that it will also check for lapses on the part of government agencies and officials and fix responsibility.

Sood said, “This is a deeply tragic incident that has cost precious lives. We have ordered a magisterial enquiry to investigate every single aspect of this collapse. No guilty person or lax official will be spared.”

“Our immediate priority is to support the affected families, and our long-term goal is to enforce strict structural safety rules so that such an accident never happens again in Delhi,” he said.

A five-storey residential building (House No. E-402, built on a small plot of 20-25 square yards) collapsed on October 7 around 3 p.m. in New Seemapuri, Delhi.

Three adjacent structures suffered major damage, were declared unsafe by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and were evacuated.

Initial local enquiries indicate that demolition work using heavy, vibration-causing machinery on an adjacent unauthorised construction site triggered the collapse.

Nearby residential structures in the area have also been found to be weak buildings constructed on tiny plots without proper structural columns or beams.

Sood said the magisterial enquiry into the collapse has the mandate to ascertain the exact facts, circumstances, and root causes of the building collapse.

It will also identify violations of laws, building rules, and safety stipulations by owners, tenants, or private individuals and also check for lapses or omissions on the part of government departments, civic agencies, and their officers to fix accountability.

Sood said the enquiry will also recommend strict legal action against all erring individuals, agencies, or officials and examine the implementation of the National Disaster Management Act, 2005, and suggest permanent preventive measures to avoid such tragedies in the future.

The Delhi Police have busted an illegal gambling network in the Model Town area of North-West Delhi and apprehended 10 people allegedly involved in gambling activities, officials said on Friday.

The Anti-Burglary Cell of the North-West District Police conducted the raid and recovered Rs 11,300 in cash, a mobile phone used for online satta parchi writing, 244 satta slips, five carbon papers, three writing pads, a calculator and three pens.

According to the police, the operation was carried out on October 28 following secret information about illegal gambling activities involving the writing of satta parchis at Rajpura, Gudmandi, Delhi, also known as Raddi’s Adda, under the jurisdiction of Model Town police station.

Acting on the information, a team from the Anti-Burglary Cell conducted a raid at the identified location and apprehended 10 people who were allegedly found actively participating in gambling activities.

The police team comprised ASI Rakesh, Head Constables Ajay and Rajpal, and Dharamraj.

During the raid, the police recovered Rs 11,300 in cash and several items used in the gambling operation. These included a mobile phone suspected to have been used for online satta parchi writing, 244 satta parchis, five carbon papers, three writing pads, one calculator and three pens.

Following the operation, an FIR (No. 413/26) dated October 28 was registered at Model Town police station under Sections 12 and 9/55 of the Gambling Act, as mentioned in the police statement.

The 10 apprehended persons have been identified as Tazuddin, 39, a resident of Rajpura, Gudmandi; Mahender, 42, also a resident of Rajpura, Gudmandi; Deepak, 42, of New Gupta Colony, Model Town; and Aasha Ram, 45, of Old Gupta Colony, Model Town.

The other accused have been identified as Mahesh, 53, of Kabir Nagar; Mohit Kumar, 25, of Rajpura, Gudmandi; Ashok Kumar, 49, who lives at Sonu Ka Makan in Yadav Chowk, Rajpura, Gudmandi; Giriraj, 44, of Rajpura, Gudmandi; Suraj, 47, of Rajpura, Gudmandi; and Umesh, 35, who resides at Bittu Ka Makan in Rajpura, Gudmandi.

The police said the operation was part of their efforts to curb illegal gambling activities in the district.

Further investigation is underway.

The Delhi Police have arrested two men for their involvement in a scholarship fraud targeting Tamil-speaking residents of Tamil Nadu and recovered a mobile phone containing data of approximately 54,000 contacts, including that of the complainant.

The accused, identified as Sachin Sharma, 29, and Sumit, facilitated the movement of the cheated money through a mule bank account in exchange for commission. The case was worked out by the East District Cyber Police Station through an analysis of banking records, ATM CCTV footage and digital evidence.

According to the police, the case originated from a complaint filed by Muthu Kumar, a resident of Tamil Nadu, who was allegedly offered a scholarship for higher education. On the pretext of securing the scholarship, he was induced to transfer approximately Rs 17,989 online on September 1.

The complainant subsequently reported the incident on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. The financial trail led investigators to a Bank of India account from which the money was withdrawn through an ATM in East Delhi. An FIR was registered under Sections 112(2) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

During the investigation, police examined bank records and ATM footage and identified Sachin as the person who withdrew the money. He was arrested on October 17. During interrogation, he disclosed that he had provided his sister’s ATM card and UPI access details to Sumit in exchange for commission.

Sachin withdrew Rs 10,000, transferred Rs 8,000 through the UPI details provided by Sumit and received Rs 3,000 as commission. He claimed that he was unaware that the money was linked to cyber fraud.

Based on his disclosure, police arrested Sumit on October 21 and recovered a Samsung S26 mobile phone. Examination of the device revealed Excel files shared through WhatsApp containing details of approximately 54,000 contacts, including the complainant’s information.

Police said Sumit disclosed that a woman known to him had sent the files on August 6. She allegedly targeted Tamil-speaking families whose children had completed school and were seeking admission to higher education, using scholarship offers to induce them to transfer money.

Sumit claimed that he was asked to print the contact database and arrange a bank account to receive the ‘cheated money’. He allegedly handed over the funds to the woman and an associate.

The role of the woman and her associates is under investigation. Police are examining the recovered device to identify additional victims, financial transactions and other links to the suspected network.