Burari deaths: Neighbours and relatives outside the family’s home in Burari. (Photo: Gajendra Yadav)
Less than two weeks ago, the Bhatia family celebrated the engagement of Priyanka (33) at a banquet hall in outer Delhi. On Sunday morning, Priyanka and 10 others from her family were found hanging from a railing at their two-storey house in Burari. “The wedding was to take place in November; the family was very happy… we all sang and danced at the engagement. Nothing seemed out of place at the time,” said Ketan Nagpal (29), a maternal cousin of the deceased. Nagpal rushed to Delhi from Panipat on Sunday afternoon after hearing about the death of his grandmother, two maternal uncles and aunts, and five cousins.
Also present at the spot was Priyanka’s fiance’s family. Wailing in disbelief, one of them told The Indian Express, “Priyanka had done her MBA and was working in Noida… the family was very kind and religious, and had no financial constraints… We were all busy figuring out the wedding details. We are devastated”.
Narayani Devi (77), the matriarch of the house who was found dead, had five children. Three of them, Bhavnesh (50), Lalit (45) and Pratibha (57), were among the victims. Bhavnesh’s wife Savita (48) and their children Nidhi (25), Maneka (22) and Dhruv (15); Lalit’s wife Teena (42) and son Shivam (15) were also found dead. While Maneka was pursuing her MSc and working towards a career in Forensics, Nidhi was a Delhi University student.
Devi’s other daughter Sujata came from Panipat, while her son Titu arrived from Kota late Sunday evening. The victims were taken in three ambulances to a nearby government hospital for post-mortem. The family owned two shops, a general store and a plywood store, which they ran from under their house. Charanjeet, a relative said, “There was no problem between the siblings. Bhavnesh ran the general store while Lalit ran the plywood one. Their business was flourishing… they were getting the house renovated, in fact. There was no financial crunch.”
A neighbour, Kuldeep Singh (38), who was one of the people to see the bodies, said: “Everyone had immense respect for Bhavnesh. He would keep the store open till 11 pm and keep an eye on what was happening in the lane… if there were any anti-social elements roaming around or boys troubling girls, he would intervene.” Manoj Bhatia, a relative, said, “They were a very religious family. They would hold a bhajan mandli at night.”
Shocked by the incident, a neighbour said, “I used to go for walks with Savita and Teena…they got along well with each other. We shared everything and there was no indication of anything amiss. It was a happy joint family. I have lost my friends.” Jatin Singh, a Class X student, said, “Dhruv and Shivam were in Class IX and went to Virendra Public School in Timarpur… we used to play cricket at night. They were very obedient. On Saturday at 11 pm, they asked me to play, but I was too tired.”