Rags to riches and a ‘killer’ son: Life of Deepak Bhardwaj
NEW DELHI: It was around 9am on March 26, 2013.
Deepak Bhardwaj, a billionaire realtor-turned-hospitality tycoon was taking a stroll in his farmhouse-cum-resort— Nitesh Kunj — located on NH-8 in Rajokari when he was gunned down by two hired killers.
The property was named after his younger son Nitesh. Police later found out that it was Nitesh who had hatched the conspiracy to murder his father.
Behind the sensational murder of Bhardwaj allegedly lied an even more sensational story — involving a fortune worth several millions, a killer son, an alleged lover ‘whom both the father and son shared,’ a lawyer with political ambitions, and an ungodly godman.
Bhardwaj had contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections in Delhi as a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate. With total assets worth ₹603.83 crore, as per his affidavit furnished with his nomination papers, Bhardwaj had then emerged as the richest candidate in the poll fray not only in Delhi but in the entire country.
Delhi Police solved the case within a fortnight. The cops arrested five men, including Bhardwaj’s younger son Nitesh, who unraveled the entire conspiracy. But they had then failed to nab co-accused, Pratibhanand, the self-styled godman, who helped Nitesh arrange the contract killers.
Pratibhanand was finally nabbed by the Ghaziabad police on Saturday, after being on the run for more than four years.
The godman was in need of money to set up his own ashram in Haridwar after being thrown out of several ashrams where he has been staying.
Delhi police officials who probed the murder case said Nitesh had got his father killed in what was possibly the most expensive contract killing in the Capital’s history.
₹5crore had been offered for the hit, although only ₹50 lakh changed hands, officials said.
Nitesh’s decision to kill his father was triggered by his and his mother’s apprehension that Bhardwaj was going to divorce her and marry a woman half his age and give her a substantial chunk of his property, the police said. The woman, surprisingly, ‘had a relationship’ with both the father and the son, police claimed. She lived in Greater Kailash and was an employee in the family business.
But Bhardwaj was not born rich. His father was a carpenter and the sole provider for his family. Bhardwaj’s first job was in Tis Hazari court as a registry clerk. He also started selling and purchasing land on the side, which later paid him rich dividends.
He was born as Devi Singh in the Haryanvi Khati caste. At 62, Bhardwaj was still on his way to the top. He occupied the growing middle ground between the prosperous small businessmen and the full fledged politico-tycoons. He contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections from West Delhi Parliamentary constituency and lost.