They talked about their future not death, say kin

Neighbours and relatives of the Burari family, who were found dead on Sunday, said that there were no indications about their drastic intentions.

The family, they said, looked towards the future not death.

The 11 deaths inside the house in north Delhi’s Burari has shocked neighbours and locals, who had interacted with the family members, some as late as Saturday afternoon.

On Saturday, the two 15-yearold boys, Dhruv and Shivam, spoke with friends about playing a cricket match on Sunday. Their fathers Bhavnesh Bhatia and Lalit Bhatia had discussed business with suppliers. Others in the family had invited an ailing relative to visit Delhi to get treatment at a city hospital.

The three-storey house where they were found dead on Sunday had served as the venue for an engagement on June 17. Priyanka, 33, who was among the dead, was to be married to a Noida-based software engineer in December.

“It was a wonderful get-together for our entire family. Almost all the relatives had gathered at the house for the engagement. They were such good hosts,” said Sujata, the surviving elder sister of Bhavnesh and Lalit.

Priyanka, meanwhile, had herself attended a family friend’s anniversary at 8pm on Saturday. “She gifted us a bed sheet and informally invited us for her wedding. She asked my wife to buy sarees for the wedding function and asked me to learn how to dance. Later, she visited a nearby laundry to give her clothes. She did not behave like she was staring at death,” said Praveen Mittal, who identified himself as Priyanka’s brother.

The two boys, Dhruv and Shivam, had watched the football world cup at a friend’s house on Saturday. “They talked about the remaining matches and how their academics would stop them from watching the games. We were to play a cricket match (Sunday)” said a 16-year-old boy, who lives in the same colony.

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