Here is the Official Statement from Viveka Babajee's family, read out by their spokesperson Dale Bhagwagar on July 1, 2010.
I, Dale Bhagwagar, am here on the request of Viveka Babajee's family as their spokesperson. Through my friend Mr Jatin Kumar, who is a family friend of the Babajees, they have requested me to help them, as the family is not able to tackle the sudden media attention.
The Babajees are a middle-class family from Mauritius. Viveka Babajee's mother, Mrs Dayawanti Bajeeram Babajee is an old lady of seventy-six and is unused to such intense media hype and speculation. Moreover, she is completely shaken by the demise of her young daughter and
going through tremendous sadness and pain.
Amidst all this, as we all know, there has been a lot of media frenzy and speculation about her daughter's demise, leading to a lot of different 'theories', talks and media stories. Thus, after discussions with Viveka's mother, I am putting forward what she wishes to convey.
The family is not at Jatin Kumar's place
Jatin Kumar was one of the first and closest friends of Viveka Babajee. Years ago, when Viveka first came from Mauritius to Mumbai, she had no support here. At that time, she stayed with Jatin Kumar's family for a few years.
She was like a daughter to Jatin's parents and Jatin and her family, were extremely very fond of her. After Jatin's parents expired, Jatin was in touch with Viveka, but since he got busy with his film production activities, his interactions with Viveka had lessened over time.
When he heard the news about her demise, he immediately rushed to help her family with all the support they needed. He arranged for the funeral as well as the Choutha, which gave rise to a speculation that the family was staying at his bungalow in Juhu.
Inspite of clarifications and requests, the media has not left his bungalow gate since then. I would like to clarify here that the Babjee family is 'not' staying at Jatin Kumar's Juhu residence as reported in the media, but elsewhere in Andheri.
The Babajee family is not running away from media
The Babajee family is too shocked and shaken by the developments of the last few days. At this moment, their priorities are to complete the last rights of Viveka.
When the family landed in India from Mauritius, they were surrounded by a lot of media at the airport. Later, at Viveka's funeral, the media was again clamouring for visuals and bytes. Then, at the Chautha Ceremony, the family was again surrounded by the media for quotes and bytes about various controversies and speculations.
In the meanwhile, there have been several contradictory and reputation-slandering reports about Viveka and her past life that are appearing in the media every day since her demise.
The Babajee family feels that many of these reports are incorrect are exaggerated. These instances have made the family stay away from the limelight. They do not want to discuss their grief in public and that is why they have preferred to remain silent and away from the media. They have requested the media to respect their privacy at their delicate moment of sadness and sorrow.
The Police investigation is on and the family will decide their further course of action after the investigation.
The Babajee family does not agree with the 'depression theory'
We are continuously hearing in the media that Viveka Babajee was 'depressed'. But her mother, Mrs Dayawanti Babajee, strongly denies this 'theory'.
Viveka was the youngest of her four daughters. Viveka's father was a Superintendent of Prisons in Mauritius. After his demise, her mother, who was also a teacher for some time, single-handedly raised her four daughters in Mauritius.
Viveka went on to become Miss Mauritius and came to Bombay after that. According to her mother, apart from having a passion for fashion, Viveka had a good sense of music. She was courageous and a go-getter. She was an independent girl with leadership qualities, had a helping nature and was also financially supporting her mother.
Whoever made friends with Viveka, she touched their hearts. With a huge friend circle, she was always cheerful and motivated, even sounding spiritual at times.
At 10pm on June 23, two days before the mishap, Viveka sent an sms to her mom which read: “Hi ma, have been shooting today. Had a good day. Just reached home. Hope you ok, my little fairy. Love you.” After this message, her mother called her up and spoke to her. According to her, Viveka was 'not depressed' at all.
If one also glances though Viveka's last few posts on Facebook, it is easily realized that she wasn't 'depressed'. In fact, her last posts on the social network, clearly convey her as a fighter and an inspiring person. And that is why, the sudden turn of events and her death is all the more shocking.
All this also means that the 'depression theory' doing the rounds is incorrect.
Viveka was indeed going around with Gautam Vora and they had been considering marriage
Viveka had discussed her boyfriend Gautam Vora with her mother several times. She had also made Gautam speak to her mother once over the phone.
According to her mother, Viveka found Gautam a kind and soft-spoken person. She had told her mother, he had proposed her. She'd said, Gautam also wanted to confirm if Viveka could bear him a baby when they married, and had asked her to visit a doctor for a check-up. He even wanted to accompany her to a doctor, but Viveka told her mother, she planned to go alone.
Viveka had also told her mother that Gautam had matched their kundalis and they were happy that all the points tallied, except one point about naadi (i.e. pulse).
All this shows that Viveka was 'indeed' going around with Gautam Vora and they had been seriously considering marriage.
The next steps…
The family has come to Mumbai and has been busy with the last rights. After the Chautha, Viveka's family drove to Nasik yesterday, where they immersed the ashes.
The family has been in India from just four days and is waiting for the Police investigation for more clues. After that, they will consider legal options.
I, Dale Bhagwagar, am here on the request of Viveka Babajee's family as their spokesperson. Through my friend Mr Jatin Kumar, who is a family friend of the Babajees, they have requested me to help them, as the family is not able to tackle the sudden media attention.
The Babajees are a middle-class family from Mauritius. Viveka Babajee's mother, Mrs Dayawanti Bajeeram Babajee is an old lady of seventy-six and is unused to such intense media hype and speculation. Moreover, she is completely shaken by the demise of her young daughter and
going through tremendous sadness and pain.Amidst all this, as we all know, there has been a lot of media frenzy and speculation about her daughter's demise, leading to a lot of different 'theories', talks and media stories. Thus, after discussions with Viveka's mother, I am putting forward what she wishes to convey.
The family is not at Jatin Kumar's place
Jatin Kumar was one of the first and closest friends of Viveka Babajee. Years ago, when Viveka first came from Mauritius to Mumbai, she had no support here. At that time, she stayed with Jatin Kumar's family for a few years.
She was like a daughter to Jatin's parents and Jatin and her family, were extremely very fond of her. After Jatin's parents expired, Jatin was in touch with Viveka, but since he got busy with his film production activities, his interactions with Viveka had lessened over time.
When he heard the news about her demise, he immediately rushed to help her family with all the support they needed. He arranged for the funeral as well as the Choutha, which gave rise to a speculation that the family was staying at his bungalow in Juhu.
Inspite of clarifications and requests, the media has not left his bungalow gate since then. I would like to clarify here that the Babjee family is 'not' staying at Jatin Kumar's Juhu residence as reported in the media, but elsewhere in Andheri.
The Babajee family is not running away from media
The Babajee family is too shocked and shaken by the developments of the last few days. At this moment, their priorities are to complete the last rights of Viveka.
When the family landed in India from Mauritius, they were surrounded by a lot of media at the airport. Later, at Viveka's funeral, the media was again clamouring for visuals and bytes. Then, at the Chautha Ceremony, the family was again surrounded by the media for quotes and bytes about various controversies and speculations.
In the meanwhile, there have been several contradictory and reputation-slandering reports about Viveka and her past life that are appearing in the media every day since her demise.
The Babajee family feels that many of these reports are incorrect are exaggerated. These instances have made the family stay away from the limelight. They do not want to discuss their grief in public and that is why they have preferred to remain silent and away from the media. They have requested the media to respect their privacy at their delicate moment of sadness and sorrow.
The Police investigation is on and the family will decide their further course of action after the investigation.
The Babajee family does not agree with the 'depression theory'
We are continuously hearing in the media that Viveka Babajee was 'depressed'. But her mother, Mrs Dayawanti Babajee, strongly denies this 'theory'.
Viveka was the youngest of her four daughters. Viveka's father was a Superintendent of Prisons in Mauritius. After his demise, her mother, who was also a teacher for some time, single-handedly raised her four daughters in Mauritius.
Viveka went on to become Miss Mauritius and came to Bombay after that. According to her mother, apart from having a passion for fashion, Viveka had a good sense of music. She was courageous and a go-getter. She was an independent girl with leadership qualities, had a helping nature and was also financially supporting her mother.
Whoever made friends with Viveka, she touched their hearts. With a huge friend circle, she was always cheerful and motivated, even sounding spiritual at times.
At 10pm on June 23, two days before the mishap, Viveka sent an sms to her mom which read: “Hi ma, have been shooting today. Had a good day. Just reached home. Hope you ok, my little fairy. Love you.” After this message, her mother called her up and spoke to her. According to her, Viveka was 'not depressed' at all.
If one also glances though Viveka's last few posts on Facebook, it is easily realized that she wasn't 'depressed'. In fact, her last posts on the social network, clearly convey her as a fighter and an inspiring person. And that is why, the sudden turn of events and her death is all the more shocking.
All this also means that the 'depression theory' doing the rounds is incorrect.
Viveka was indeed going around with Gautam Vora and they had been considering marriage
Viveka had discussed her boyfriend Gautam Vora with her mother several times. She had also made Gautam speak to her mother once over the phone.
According to her mother, Viveka found Gautam a kind and soft-spoken person. She had told her mother, he had proposed her. She'd said, Gautam also wanted to confirm if Viveka could bear him a baby when they married, and had asked her to visit a doctor for a check-up. He even wanted to accompany her to a doctor, but Viveka told her mother, she planned to go alone.
Viveka had also told her mother that Gautam had matched their kundalis and they were happy that all the points tallied, except one point about naadi (i.e. pulse).
All this shows that Viveka was 'indeed' going around with Gautam Vora and they had been seriously considering marriage.
The next steps…
The family has come to Mumbai and has been busy with the last rights. After the Chautha, Viveka's family drove to Nasik yesterday, where they immersed the ashes.
The family has been in India from just four days and is waiting for the Police investigation for more clues. After that, they will consider legal options.
