A Gurugram family has been devastated by the deadly fire that broke out at a restaurant in Delhi’s Malviya Nagar, claiming the lives of seven family members, while one relative remains missing.
The tragedy has cast a pall of gloom over the home of chartered accountant Vivek Agarwal in Sector 46, Gurugram. On Thursday, silence prevailed outside the residence, with only a red car and a motorcycle parked outside. No family members were present at the house, while a tenant living on the first floor declined to speak to the media.
According to information available so far, eight members of Vivek Agarwal’s family had travelled to Delhi to visit his father, Radhe Shyam Agarwal, who had been undergoing treatment at Max Hospital for several days. After meeting him, the family reportedly went for breakfast at the restaurant located in Hotel Flourish Stay, where the fire broke out.
Prem Bansal, a resident of Mahavir Enclave in Delhi and Vivek Agarwal’s father-in-law, said that Vivek’s mother, wife, two daughters, maternal uncle, aunt and another uncle were present at the time of the incident. They sustained severe burn injuries and lost their lives.
According to neighbours, those who died in the tragedy were Vivek Agarwal, his wife Tarjani Agarwal, mother Premlata Agarwal, daughters Angel Agarwal and Pearl Agarwal, maternal uncle Ashok Goyal and aunt Kamla Goyal. One uncle is still reported missing. Family members said that the uncle had come from Kishanganj, while the uncle and aunt had travelled from Ajmer.
The tragedy has left neighbours and residents of the area in shock.
“Vivek Agarwal’s image was so good that even after hearing about his death, no neighbour is able to believe it. All the family members were friendly and well-respected in the locality. Vivek worked as a chartered accountant with a private company, while his wife ran an NGO. We have been told that the bodies will arrive tomorrow after the postmortem. We are all deeply shocked by this accident,” said Yogender Yadav, a neighbour.
Another neighbour, Dhull, said, “There is no one at the house with whom we can speak. Ever since we heard the news, we have found it difficult to believe.”
