Family wiped out in a week: Gurgaon man dies without knowing 8 of his own were killed in South Delhi B&B fire

Days after eight members of his extended family died in a fire at a South Delhi Bed & Breakfast (B&B) establishment, Radhe Shyam Aggarwal passed away at Max Hospital in Saket around noon on Tuesday.

He did not know that his wife, son, daughter-in-law, two granddaughters, along with three members of his extended family, had perished in the fire at Flourish Stays B&B on June 3.

Vijay Aggarwal (53), a relative, confirmed his passing. With nobody left in his immediate family, the last rites were conducted by Radhe Shyam’s brother’s sons.

Radhe Shyam, in his 70s, had been suffering from a heart ailment and was on ventilator support for the past few days, a close relative said. He had been admitted to the hospital just three days before the deadly fire that claimed 22 lives, including 13 foreign nationals.

The family, including Radhe Shyam’s son Vivek, had travelled to Delhi and checked into Flourish Stays B&B after doctors informed them that his condition was critical.

“We did not tell him about the tragedy… He died without knowing that eight members of his family have been killed in the fire. Vivek was his only child,” said a relative.

“Agar hum unko batate toh vo aur toot jaate (If we had told him, he would have been devastated). We wanted him to recover so that at least one member of the family remained with us. If he got better, he could have decided what to do with the family’s properties and other resources… to donate to a trust or an NGO, whatever he felt was right,” the relative added.

“Their house in Gurgaon is completely empty now,” the relative said, adding that the family was scheduled to travel to Ahmedabad for a wedding next month.

“We were all happy. Now everything is gone.”

Last week, Vivek had rented rooms at Flourish Stays B&B in Hauz Rani, located just minutes from the Max Hospital Saket. He was staying there with his mother Premlata, wife Tarjani and their two daughters, Jivisha and Varya.

Also staying at the hotel were Vivek’s maternal uncle Ashok Goyal from Kishangarh, and his mother’s sister Kamla and her husband Jimri, who had also come to Delhi to be near Radhe Shyam.

The family had chosen the hotel because of its proximity to the hospital. “They wanted to be near Radhe Shyam…,” Prem Bansal, Tarjani’s father, had said earlier.

The family, the close ones remember, had always been warm in hosting. “Even when a child is coming from Kishangarh to study, they always find a home in Gurgaon. There is a vacuum created now,” said a relative.