‘Papa… let me sleep’: Last conversation with Gurgaon event planner haunts father

Around 12:45 pm on Thursday, Prem Bansal ran briefly behind an ambulance that had his daughter Tarjani Aggrawal’s body. Feeling helpless, a teary-eyed Bansal just wanted to ensure her last journey from AIIMS mortuary in Delhi to her home in Gurgaon was comfortable.

Tarjani was among the eight of a family who died in a massive blaze at Flourish Stays, a bed-and-breakfast in South Delhi’s Hauz Rani, on Wednesday. They were staying at the B&B because an elderly family member, Radhe Shyam Aggarwal, had been admitted in the intensive care unit of the Max Hospital in Saket for several days. Vivek, Tarjani’s husband, had rented the rooms to stay closer to his ailing father.

A day after the tragedy, Bansal reached the mortuary on Thursday morning. Eyes swollen, he met other relatives as they hugged him tight.

He recalled the last conversation he had with his Tarjani — around 8.28 am on the day of the incident.

“I told her I have made macaroni for the children and parathas for her. But she scolded me…‘Papa aap kyun pareshan kar rahe ho. Main so rahi hun (Papa, why are you disturbing me? I’m sleeping).’ Then she said, ‘Is this the time to eat? It’s just 8:30. Let me sleep. Phir vo so gayi.. So gayi vo.. (Then she slept…),” he said as he burst into tears.

Apart from Tarjani, Vivek, his mother, Hemlata, and the couple’s two young daughters — Jeevisha (20) and Varya (16) — were among the 21 who died in the blaze. Also staying at the hotel were Vivek’s maternal uncle, Ashok Goyal, from Rajasthan’s Kishangarh, and his maternal aunt, Kamala, and her husband Jhimri from Ajmer. They too were killed in the blaze.

Relatives said Vivek’s wife was an event planner, while his elder daughter was studying engineering in Bengaluru.

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The last conversations that had with the deceased haunted the mourning relatives. Shyam Agrawal (51), Vivek’s cousin, recollected he made a call to another cousin around 8:30 am, saying, “Bhaiya, I’m at the basement aur har jagah dhuan ho raha hai, mujhe ghutan ho rahi hai… shayad aaj lag gayi hai (Brother, I’m in the basement and there’s smoke everywhere. I’m feeling suffocated. I think the fire has broken out today).”

After the incident, the family was given updates about deaths — one after the other — on Wednesday. “First, we were told about Tarjani, then their two daughters. The younger one was studying in Class 11. The elder one was a B Tech first year student. She was scheduled to leave within two days as her exams were due,” Shyam said.

He said, “We identified Tarjani in Max Hospital’s mortuary through her jewellery as her body was completely charred.”

While bodies of Vivek and five others of immediate family were taken to Gurgaon on Thursday, the autopsy of the Ajmer couple was yet to be conducted as their son’s arrival from the United States was awaited.

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In Gurgaon, Vivek’s uncle, Vishnu Kant Garg, shaking in anger, said, “Everyone is corrupt… that is why I have lost most of my family.”

Seething at the civic apathy, Vishnu told The Indian Express, “I will give Rs 20 lakh, I challenge the Prime Minister and Delhi government — run bulldozers and demolish all the illegal properties there… so no other lives can be lost.” he added.

Outside Vivek’s sprawling two-storey property in Gurgaon’s Sector 46, relatives gathered on the ground floor and the area nearby to pay their condolences. The family said Vivek, in his late 40s, was a chartered accountant and Deputy CFO at InsuranceDekho. He moved to Gurgaon with his family in 2019.

“Vivek had built the house with his own money. The family lived on the first floor and rented out the other portion,” said Vivek’s cousin, Vijay. It was Vijay, a sales executive working in Delhi’s Kotla, who had last spoken to Vivek when the fire started. He rushed to the hospital immediately.

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A neighbour, Ravinder Khatri, said their families were close: “What happened is very tragic. Vivek was a bright man, I would see him cycling 5-6 km every morning in our neighbourhood. They were a very good family and kind people.”

Vivek’s colleague said, “Our company arranges fire insurance (among others) for people… and now…”

Shyam Agarwal remains in the ICU, unaware of the devastating loss. “What will he wake up to now?” Ravinder said.

Vivek’s mother-in-law, Santosh Bansal, remembered her grandkids as being “the sweetest souls”. “What happened is beyond unfair. Such hotels should not be permitted,” she said.

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Meanwhile, the Gurgaon district administration has ordered a safety audit of all BnBs in the city. “In view of citizens’ safety, I have written to the Fire Department in this regard,” Deputy Commissioner Uttam Singh told The Indian Express.