Bharadwaj: Rags to riches

The journey of the murdered Deepak Bhardwaj's life is a typical rags-to-riches story. Twenty years ago, he was working as a clerk in the Delhi government's flood control department. At that time, there were rumours that he tried to grab government land to enter the fast lane. Gradually he became a builder, setting up DG Malls, and undertook a township building project in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan's wife Gauri's cousin sister Priyanka Tiwari is married to Deepak Bhardwaj's younger son Nitesh. The elder son Hitesh is involved in real estate. His wife, Ramesh Kumari Bhardwaj, who used to work as a school teacher, set up Shiksha Bharti Public School in Dwarka, which also owns agriculture land worth Rs 100.35 crore. Shiksha Bharti is a senior secondary school employing 150 teachers and associate staff. The Bhardwajs have two sons: Hitesh and Nitesh.A Hitesh looks after construction activities and is married to an ex-Army Colonel's daughter. Nitesh is a hotel management professional, and is married to Gauri Khan's cousin sister. To get international exposure Deepak Bhardwaj went abroad as a business entrepreneur to Canada. There he ran two hotels near Niagra Falls, from 1998 to 2004 and in the process became an NRI based in Toronto. Deepak BhardwajA established contacts in over 100 villages of Delhi. In most of these villages he owns farm land and assets. Bhardwaj developed a number of farmhouse colonies in and around Delhi and procured land for big industrial houses and developers for setting up industries and colonies. His company, Delhi Apartments Pvt Ltd, is part of Deepak Group of Companies, based in New Delhi and Rishikesh.A DAPL is now building a Deep Ganga township near Haridwar and a few hotels and motels in and around Delhi. The Nitesh Kunj hotel, where Bhardwaj was assassinated, is a 28-acre four-lawn complex, which has a banquet hall space of over 35,000 sq feet, and a 40-room hotel within the complex. His end was just as dramatic as his exceptional rise. The 62-year-old tycoon hogged the headlines during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections when he declared his assets to be a dizzying Rs 603 crore. With his finger in many pies, including real estate, hotels and education, Bhardwaj's wealth was hardly surprising. His was a one-of-a-kind success story of the kind that inspired youngsters with a rural background - like he had - to dream big. From his farmer father, he inherited a few acres of agricultural land. When he filed his income tax returns for 2009, he declared the value of the family's land, agricultural and other properties at Rs 566.83 crore. His affidavit to the Election Commission during the Lok Sabha elections valued him at Rs 603 crore, while his wife declared her investments in land worth over Rs 100 crore. In 2009, Bhardwaj dived into politics full-time, bagging the BSP ticket to contest from West Delhi. Many had alleged that he had bought the nomination with hard cash but it did little to take away the media glare that came with his riches.