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The Indian dream that ended in Hauz Rani fire: How 3 generations were wiped out
A family tragedy struck when all eight members of the Aggarwal clan perished in a fire at a B&B in Delhi, just days after gathering for their ailing patriarch.
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On May 31, when doctors at the Max Hospital in Saket, Delhi, told chartered accountant Vivek Aggarwal that his father’s condition was critical and that the family should prepare for the worst, the 45-year-old immediately called his elder daughter, Jivisha, in Bengaluru.
The organs of Radhe Shyam (77), the family patriarch, were failing, his oxygen levels were dropping, and doctors had put him on BiPAP support. The message from father to daughter was simple: “Come home.”
20-year-old Jivisha, who had just begun her first year at PES University in Bengaluru, boarded the first available flight and reached Delhi on June 2 around 4pm. The family wanted to be together. Three days later, Vivek, his wife Tarjani, daughters Jivisha and Varya, his mother Prem Lata and three relatives from Rajasthan would die in a devastating fire that engulfed Flourish Stays, the B&B, where they had shifted to be closer to the hospital.
Six days after the blaze, Radhe Shyam himself died in the ICU, unaware that his entire world had already vanished.
Behind the tragedy are two quintessential Indian stories. The first is of family whose journey mirrored that of countless middle-class households across India — families that spent decades building homes, educating children, caring for ageing parents and dreaming of a better future. And the second is of how relative wealth is no insurance against the unpredictability, and low value, of life in India where safety is often given the short shrift.
This is the first story.
From Ajmer to Delhi, and beyond
Radhe Shyam and his wife Prem Lata left Ajmer, Rajasthan, and moved to Delhi in 1978 with their newborn son Vivek. The young family settled in Kotla Mubarakpur in south Delhi, occupying the first floor of a four-storey ancestral building where several cousins grew up together.
Radhe Shyam joined the family’s automobile spare parts business, which had been operating since 1974. Over time, he branched out into real estate construction and interior decoration, establishing himself in the business in 1995 before eventually retiring about a decade ago.
“Uncle had worked very hard throughout his life. Once Vivek started doing well professionally, he gradually stepped back and left all decisions to him,” said Mahendra Aggarwal, Vivek’s cousin who now lives in Noida.
Relatives describe Vivek as a brilliant student. He studied at Manav Sthali School in Delhi, graduated from school in 1996, and then enrolled for a commerce degree even as he prepared for his CA exam. According to another cousin, Deepak Aggarwal, Vivek became one of the youngest CAs in the Delhi region in 1999. He would have been 21 years old at the time. “He was among the top five in Delhi and among the top 30 in the country.”
His professional career began overseas. Mrinal Aggarwal, Vivek’s nephew, said his first job was with an Oman-based company. He stayed overseas for almost five years. “He went to Singapore and later to Nigeria before returning to India in 2004.”
Back home, Vivek held senior positions with several leading companies. He worked with AiRtel between 2004 and 2006, joined Genpact where he worked till 2012, moved to HCL, later worked with Info Edge, and eventually joined InsuranceDekho as chief financial officer in August 2024. Weeks before his death, he had travelled to Hong Kong to receive an award from his company.
A family on the move
Vivek married Tarjani in 2005 in an arranged marriage. Family members said the couple complemented each other perfectly. “Vivek was very clear in his decisions and goals, while Tarjani was extremely creative. She loved organising things and took responsibility for every family function,” Mahendra said.
According to relatives, Tarjani had recently launched her own event management company. “She played the role of a perfect wife and daughter-in-law. She brought up both daughters with strong family values,” Mahendra added. The couple enjoyed a large social circle and frequently hosted relatives and friends.
The Aggarwals’ greatest pride was their daughters. Jivisha had secured admission to PES University for a computer science engineering course. Her younger sister, 16-year-old Varya, studied in Class XI at DPS Gurugram. Family members said the sisters were ambitious, and were already planning to study overseas. Varya had recently returned from Germany after participating in a student exchange programme.
Perhaps nothing represented the family’s success more than their sprawling three-storey duplex-style house in Sector-46, Gurugram. They moved there only in December 2025. Vivek Aggarwal purchased the 500-square-yard plot in 2015 as an investment. “But after he started working in Gurugram, he decided to build his dream house on it,” Mahendra said.
Construction began in 2018. The father-son duo invested nearly ₹4-5 crore, largely from their savings, in it. Despite having undergone a major heart surgery in 2019 and living with only 35% heart function, Radhe Shyam personally supervised construction. “Since uncle had decades of experience, he decided to monitor the work himself,” Mahendra said. “He would spend the entire day at the site. He would have lunch in his car and return home only in the evening.”
The routine continued until December, when the house was finally completed. The family shifted from their rented apartment in Noida and organised a grand house-warming ceremony attended by relatives, friends and colleagues. Two cars, including Vivek’s beloved white Mercedes C-Class, occupied the portico. The family had finally achieved what generations had worked for.
According to relatives, Vivek received the Mercedes from HCL as a surprise Diwali gift in 2015 after successfully completing an ₹800-crore project. “He loved the car very much,” family members said. For several days after the fire, the Mercedes remained parked outside Flourish Stays— abandoned and ownerless.
A father fighting for life
In 2024, Radhe Shyam was diagnosed with Interstitial Lung Disease. His health deteriorated steadily. According to Vivek’s cousin Vikram Aggarwal, family members had gathered at the Gurugram residence on May 20 after his condition worsened. He was admitted to Max in Gurugram on May 9 and discharged two days later. After another brief admission elsewhere, he was finally shifted to Max Saket on May 31. Doctors put him on BiPAP support as oxygen levels dropped and organs began failing.
On June 2, Vivek, his wife Tarjani, daughters Jivisha and Varya, and mother Prem Lata moved from their home in Sector-46 to Flourish Stays, opposite Max Saket. The reason was practical. Repeated journeys between Gurugram and the hospital consumed nearly three hours daily. They booked three rooms at ₹3,500 each. The property, which enjoys a 4.6-star rating on Google, had reviews praising its cleanliness, staff, and food.
On the night of June 2 and early morning of June 3, more relatives arrived from Ajmer. These included Vivek Aggarwal’s maternal cousin Ashok Aggarwal, 64, and maternal uncle and aunt, Jawri Lal Aggarwal, 73, and Kamla Aggarwal, 68. They had come to support the family through difficult times.
The fire
Three days later, tragedy struck. A massive blaze engulfed the bed and breakfast. Trapped inside, family members called relatives, pleaded for help and desperately tried to survive. Mahendra received a call from Vivek Aggarwal at 8.50am. The family immediately rushed from Kotla. “We kept calling the fire department. We saw a fire tender and followed it to reach the spot by 9.15 am,” Mahendra said.
Swati Aggarwal, wife of Vivek’s cousin Vikram, said firefighters were initially focused on controlling the flames. “We kept shouting that our family members were trapped in the basement and on the fourth floor. It was after that that rescuers arranged a cutting torch and opened a locked emergency exit connected to the basement,” she recalled.
Vivek and Ashok were the first to be brought out. “We tried giving CPR on the road but there was no response,” Swati said. All eight members of the Aggarwal clan perished in the fire.
Back at Max Hospital, Radhe Shyam remained unaware. “He kept asking about Vivek and everyone else but we decided to tell him only after he was shifted out of ICU,” Swati said.
That moment never came. He died on June 9. “He passed away without giving us the chance to tell him anything,” she said.
Today, relatives occupying the house in Sector-46 are unable to even think about legal and financial matters.“First we have to learn how to live with this pain,” Mahendra said. “The country will forget this in a day, but this pain will remain with us till our death.”
“This happened because of deep-rooted corruption and negligence,” Mahendra said. “It snatched away Vivek and his entire family from us.”
Today, the beautiful home built over six years stands largely silent. The dreams of three generations lie frozen inside its walls. And a family that did everything right -- studied hard, worked honestly, cared for elders and invested in building a better future — and was living the Indian dream perished in a tragedy that had been foretold many times over.
