New Delhi: Eight of the 11 members of a family found dead in their home in north Delhi's Burari locality showed no signs of a struggle and died as a result of hanging, officials said on Monday after the postmortem of all the victims was completed. The bodies of three generations of the Bhatia family were discovered in their home in north Delhi's Burari by a neighbour who grew suspicious when he found their grocery shop shut on Sunday morning.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Alok Kumar stated that the postmortem was conducted and the initial investigation seems to suggest a suicide pact. "We have also sought an opinion from doctors," added Kumar. The police are yet to establish the sequence of the deaths; whether it was a mass suicide or murder-suicide. A case of murder has been filed after handwritten notes revealed a possible spiritual connection to the deaths, say the police.
As the police attempt to piece together the events leading to the deaths more chilling details are emerging. One of them is 11 pipes protruding from one wall of the house, all set close together. What has confounded investigators is that there was no water outlet on that side of the house in North Delhi's Burari in which the Bhatias lived until they were found hanging on Sunday morning. Only one, 77-year-old Narayan Devi, was found on the floor, with signs of strangling.
The ten others, including Narayan Devi's daughter Pratibha, 57, sons Bhavnesh, 50, and Lalit Bhatia, 45, and their families, were found hanging from a net attached to the ceiling. Bhavesh's wife Savita, 48, and their three children Meenu, 23, Neetu, 25, and 15-year-old Dhruv, and Lalit Bhatia's wife Tina, 42, and their 15-year-old son Shivam were also hanging. Also found hanging was Pratibha's daughter Priyanka, 33, who was engaged last month and was, from all accounts, excited about her wedding later this year.
Most of the bodies were four blindfolded, the mouths taped and hands tied behind the back. Handwritten notes and a diary found at the site indicate that the deaths were planned and that the family followed so-called instructions for "mass salvation", say the police. As for the mysterious pipes, they face an empty plot and are not outlets for water. Four of the pipes point straight while four are bent. One pipe is a little away from the others. The police are investigating the significance of the pipes, but there are already murmurs of a spiritual link.