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‘Nobody knows when will bodies arrive…’: Grief hangs heavy at Delhi home as 4 of family killed in Goa club fire

On Sunday, the neighbours of the deceased — four of the same family — gathered outside their double-storey house. The bodies had not reached till evening, yet the neighbourhood stood in quiet vigil.

Family lost 4 in Goa, awaits bodiesOutside the house in Karawal Nagar. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)

Four out of the five tourists killed in a fire at a club in Goa on Saturday night were from Karawal Nagar in North-East Delhi. In all, 25 were killed in the incident.

On Sunday, the neighbours of the deceased — four of the same family — gathered outside their double-storey house. The bodies had not reached till evening, yet the neighbourhood stood in quiet vigil. A white tent has been erected outside the house to accommodate the steady flow of visitors. Inside, sat Vinod Kumar’s elderly mother surrounded by relatives.

People said she was not told yet that her younger son, her daughter-in-law and two other members of the family had died. “Woh ro toh rahi hain… par unko abhi tak poori baat nahi batayi gayi (She has been crying… but has not been told about the entire incident yet),” a neighbour said.

The four members of the family who died in the blaze are Vinod Kumar, his sister-in-laws Anita Joshi and Saroj Joshi, and his elder brother’s wife Kamla. Vinod’s wife Bhavana survived. The group had left for Goa on December 3 and were scheduled to return on Monday.

According to Goa Police, the inquest proceedings were completed for Vinod and Saroj, while post-mortem of Kamla’s and Anita’s bodies were pending, as of Sunday night. “Nobody knows when the bodies will arrive…people have been gathering here since morning,” said Anju, a neighbour.

The locality — a cluster of narrow lanes, uneven roads and a long nallah running parallel to the houses — is home to families who migrated from Uttarakhand in the 1980s and 1990s. Over the years, many have built larger homes and in many live joint families. “I have been staying here since 1985…their family had arrived just 2-3 years after us. Our families have known each other ever since. They have been good neighbours…would never get into any fight,” said Rajesh Shah.

Another neighbour scrolled through a photo of Vinod dressed as Ram for a Ramlila event. Others spoke about festivals, bhajan gatherings and evenings spent together. “We are all from Uttarakhand. My husband has known them since his childhood, my mother-in-law is good friends with Vinod’s mother — this feels like a personal loss,” said Sushma.

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Vinod dealt with insurance and finance. Vinod and Bhavana have a 10-year-old son and five-year-old daughter.

Neighbours remained outside the house till late evening — some seen bringing tea for those who had not left since morning. Every fresh rumour about the bodies getting dispatched from Goa travelled quickly, followed by silence again. “Jab bodies aayengi… Puri gali toot jayegi (When the bodies will arrive, the entire lane will break down),” Sushma added.

Inside, the family waited, still trying to protect the mother from the pain the news would carry.

Saman Husain is a Correspondent at The Indian Express. Based in New Delhi, she is an emerging voice in political journalism, reporting on civic governance, elections, migration, and the social consequences of policy, with a focus on ground-reporting across Delhi-NCR and western Uttar Pradesh. Professional Profile Education: She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science (Honours) from Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, and is an alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai. Core Beats: Her reporting focuses on the national capital’s governance and politics. She specializes in Delhi’s civic administration and the city units of the BJP, AAP and Congress. In western Uttar Pradesh, she mostly reports on crime. Specialization: She has a keen interest in electoral processes and politics — her recent contributions include work on electoral roll revisions. Recent Notable Articles (since July 2025) Her recent work reflects a strong show-not-tell approach to storytelling, combining narrative reporting with political and historical context: 1. Politics: “On the banks of the Yamuna, a political tussle for Purvanchali support” (October 6): A report on how migration histories shaped electoral strategies in Delhi before the Bihar elections. “Explained: How Delhi’s natural drainage vanished gradually over the centuries” (September 29): An explanatory piece tracing the historical reasons that eventually led to the erosion of Delhi’s rivers and its impact on perrenial flooding. 2. Longforms “Four weddings, three funerals: How a Uttar Pradesh man swindled insurance companies” (October 7): A long-read reconstructing a chilling fraud by a man who killed three of his family members, including both his parents for insurance proceeds. His fourth wife discovered his fraud… “How Ghaziabad conman operated fake embassy of a country that doesn’t exist — for 9 years” (July 27) : A story on bizarre fraud operation and the institutional blind spots that enabled it. 3. Crime and Justice: “He was 8 when his father was killed. Fifteen years later, in UP’s Shamli, he took revenge” (October 18): A deeply reported crime story tracing cycles of violence, memory and justice in rural Uttar Pradesh. “Who killed 19 girls in Nithari? With the SC rejecting appeals, there are no answers and no closure” (July 31): A report capturing the long legal and emotional aftermath of one of India’s most chilling unsolved criminal cases. 4. Policy Impact “At Manthan, over US tariffs, Delhi-NCR’s apparel industry brainstorms solutions” (September 8) and “Trump’s 50% tariff begins to bite: Agra’s leather belt feels the impact” (August 13) : Reports documenting how global trade decisions ripple through local industries, workers and exporters. Signature Style Saman is recognized for her grassroots storytelling. Her articles often focus on the "people behind the policy". She is particularly skilled at taking mundane administrative processes and turning them into compelling human narratives. X (Twitter): @SamanHusain9 ... Read More

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