With the passing of a 78-year-old man in Gurugram's Sector 46 on Tuesday, an entire family has vanished from the face of the earth.
Radheshyam Aggarwal died on Tuesday, fighting a lung ailment at Max Hospital in Delhi, just days after he lost his family, including his wife, their chartered accountant son Vivek Aggarwal, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren to the deadly fire that broke out in the national capital on June 3.
Upon hearing the news of the septuagenarian's death, his neighbours in Sector 46 in Gurugram were once again plunged into grief and blamed the family's fate for this ordeal.
"Although Vivek's father was seriously ill, we had hoped he would recover and return home, but today he too passed away. God has truly taken away this entire family, which is deeply saddening," a neighbour lamented.
"Mr Agarwal was also very friendly and cheerful. May what happened to this family not happen to anyone," he added.
He added that it is not yet confirmed when his body will reach Gurugram for the cremation.
Radheshyam Aggarwal was admitted to the hospital on May 30 and had been undergoing treatment for respiratory issues and was on ventilator support.
He passed away around 11.15 AM on Tuesday.
During that period, his son Vivek Aggarwal had taken rooms at Flourish Stays, a Bed-and-Breakfast premises in Hauz Rani, located a few minutes away from the hospital.
His family and a few relatives had come to see him in Delhi.
On the morning of June 3, a fire broke out at the B&B premises in the Hauz Rani area, killing eight family members and relatives, including Radhe Shyam's son Vivek Aggarwal, Vivek's wife Tarjani, Vivek's two daughters Jeevisha and Variya and Radhe Shyam's wife Premlata.
Also among the deceased in the blaze were Vivek's maternal uncle Ashok Goyal from Kishangarh, Rajasthan, as well as his mother's sister Kamla and her husband, Javri Lal, bringing the total number of deaths to eight.
(With inputs from PTI)