Someone rightly said: “Stare at the dark too long and you will eventually see what isn’t there.” Rings true for most of the places that are haunted. One such place is Bhuli Bhatiyari Ka Mahal at Jhandewalan near Karol Bagh. I had come across several articles, videos and social media posts about the place being haunted. Some said that this place is so spooky, no guard has been able to work here for more than one day. And that screams of women and children as if they were getting beaten up can be heard at this spot. You will find several stories about the place on Internet.
One story says that inside the mahal lives a queen who had died 600 years ago, and that her ghost is seen here at night. Another says a person named Boo Ali Bakhtiyari ruled here, and the place was named after him and later people modified the name to Bhooli Bhatyari for theease of pronunciation. Another says that a woman named Bhuri from the Bhatiyar tribe in Rajasthan, lost her way and reached this palace. One day, Muslim ruler Sultan Feroz Shah Tughlaq came here.
He was thirsty, so she offered him water and he named the place after her name, and since she had forgotten her way, it was named Bhooli Bhatiyari. When Bhuri died, she possessed this place. But if the historians are to be believed this was built in the 13th century by Tughl aqasa hunting lodge. Bhooli Bhatiyari Ka Mahal is under the Arc h a e o - logical Survey of India and currently being restored. People still come here in huge numbers, expecting to meet the ghost.
Intrigued by these stories, visited this place at different time of the night several times in February 2020, with my assistant Yogi who takes care of imagery tools like night vision cameras, thermal cameras, SLS cameras, full spect rum l ight s and other equipment. It’s not a big palace, not a fort, but more of small house, with a few rooms, a lawn, and two gates for entry and exit. When I went there, there was no heavy police deployment at night as mentioned on the social media.
There are just police barricades, and you are not allowed to enter at night; not because of the ghost but due to the risk of animals or anti-social elements. There was also guard on duty, working here for four years now, who told me that nothing has ever happened to him. And that busted another myth. Once, I left my night vision there for three hours, and I thought if there’s anything I will get the footage. I even performed planchette (an ancient technique to instigate the paranormal energy, if any), but got nothing.
I realised that all these ghost tales were imaginary. Next time, anyone tells you not to visit Bhuli Bhatiyari, you know what to say. Though you are not allowed to stay there at night, you can with permission from the police, like I did. As told to Nikita Sharma by Jay Alani, Paranormal Investigator, media professional, author, TedX speaker, podcaster and founder of the Paranormal Company