GOA: The flames of the blaze that burned through a Goa nightclub seem to have stretched limbs across time to not only destroy Bhavna Joshi's future with her husband but also scorch the memories she has collected with her sisters since childhood.
Her husband, Vinod Kumar (43), and three sisters—Kamla Joshi (42), Anita Joshi (41), and Saroj Joshi (39)—were among the 25 victims who perished in the massive fire on December 6 in north Goa.
Bhavna, who was also at the nightclub, survived the tragedy with injuries. Amid her grief, her only plea is for justice for the loss of her loved ones.
Bhavna sits in a corner of her home in northeast Delhi's Karawal Nagar with heavy eyes, as relatives tiptoe around her, unsure of how to console her.
"We were enjoying ourselves. Everything was normal. Suddenly, there was fire," she recalls.
It was small at first, but they could not control it, she says, unable to hold back tears.
"In seconds, it became huge and uncontrollable. My husband and my sisters were trapped in it. I saw everything," she says.
Her voice stiffens when she speaks of the calls she has been receiving from the Goa collector's office.
"They keep asking for bank details. They say they will give us two lakh rupees," she says.
"Are we beggars? Will two lakh rupees bring back my family? Will it return my sisters? Have some shame. I do not want any compensation. I just want justice," Bhavna says.
In another quiet corner of the house sits her elderly mother, Meena, who watched her three daughters leave for a holiday and never return, while her fourth daughter grieves for her husband.
The magnitude of her loss, Meena says, is too large to express.
"I lost my children. What do you expect from a mother who lost four children at this age?" she asks.
"I lost everything in that fire. The culprits must not get away with bail or just a fine. They must face the consequences. I only want justice," Meena says.
Naveen, Kamla's husband and the elder brother of Vinod, says the family would not have even found out what happened to their loved ones if not for Bhavna's survival.
"If my brother's wife had not survived, we would not have known anything," he says, adding that identification was difficult since there were 25 people who died.
Blaming the authorities for negligence, Naveen alleges that the bodies were kept in such a condition that it is difficult to describe.
"There are many restaurants and clubs where rules are not followed. Action should be taken so this does not happen again. Today, it happened to us. Tomorrow, it may be someone else," he says.
For Bhavna, if the the dark shadow cast over her life can be mitigated at all, it would be only through justice.
She keeps repeating her demand. "I just want justice for my family. Nothing more, nothing less," she says.
Their relatives earlier told PTI that the four sisters had been planning their Goa vacation for months, hoping for a few days of rest now that their children were older and no longer wholly dependent on them.
Vinod had accompanied them so that they would feel safe and supported during the journey. The five left their Karawal Nagar homes with excitement, expecting a break from routine.
In the early hours of December 6, a massive fire ripped through the ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub in Arpora, Goa, claiming 25 lives.
On Thursday, a Goa court sent Ajay Gupta, who claimed to be a silent partner and investor in the nightclub, to seven days of police custody. Gupta was brought from Delhi on Wednesday night on a transit remand for questioning and was taken to the Anjuna police station for further investigation, officials said.
Earlier, a Look Out circular had been issued against him. Five managers and staff members have already been arrested in connection with the blaze. Meanwhile, co-owners Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, who fled to Phuket, Thailand, shortly after the incident, have been detained by local authorities.
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