Did godman spur Delhi family to commit suicide?

Mangalore Today News Network

Delhi, Jul 02, 2018 : It was like a scene out of a horror movie. The bodies of 11 members of a Delhi family, ten of them hanging from an iron-mesh in the ceiling inside one room, were found at their residence in Burari’s Sant Nagar area on Sunday morning.

 

The body of a 77-year-old woman was lying on the floor in another room of the house. Police suspect spiritual belief may have pushed the deceased to take their own lives as some handwritten notes have been found that mention the occult and "ways to attain salvation".

Cops are looking into the possibility of a godman having spurred the family to take the extreme step. However, sources told Mail Today that the investigation will consider all plausible angles and the case has been transferred to the crime branch.

Two of the deceased were children - both aged around 15. Requesting anonymity, officers close to the probe said that apart from spiritual and religious books, they have found a register with the handwritten notes.

The last one reads: "Stool ka upyog karne se, haath, aankh aur muu bandhne se hi moksh ki prapti hogi (Using a stool, and keeping the hands, eyes and mouth tied up will help attain salvation)."

The bodies of the women and children were found hanging with their hands tied, eyes blindfolded and mouths taped. The eyes on the male bodies were covered with cloth. Police are not ruling out the possibility of poisoning before hanging some of the bodies.

Vinit Kumar, additional DCP (north), said, "During the search of the house, certain handwritten notes have been found which point towards observance of some definite spiritual and mystical practices by the whole family. These notes have strong similarity with the manner in which the mouths, eyes of the deceased were tied and taped. This is being investigated further to establish their links with the deaths."

The deceased were identified as Narayan Devi (77), her two sons Bhavnesh (50) and Lalit (45), her daughter-in-laws Savita (48) and Teena (42), her daughter Pratibha (57), her grandchildren Priyanka (33), Nitu (25), Monu (23), Dhruv (15) and Shivam (15). The family owns a pet dog that was found tied on the terrace.

A forensic team has collected the leash to look for fingerprints. The family had been living in the area for 23 years and was in the plywood business and also ran a grocery shop from the ground floor of the house in a narrow lane.

According to neighbours, all the family members were very spiritual and every day they would place a plank outside their house with handwritten positive quotes. For the past one week, Lalit was on a maun vrat (observing a vow of silence), neighbours said.

"In the initial investigation, the role of three family members (all dead) is being looked at. These three people including two sons of Narayan Devi could have killed their mother first, and then poisoned their wives and kids only to hang them before killing themselves," sources said.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the spot, and told the media: "I spoke to the neighbours. They said it was a very loving and social family We have to wait for the police to complete their investigation."

HOW INCIDENT CAME TO LIGHT

Around 6.30 am on Sunday, the milk supplier left a crate outside the shop as it was closed, but the main door of the house was open. Gurucharan, a neighbour, noticed the crate lying unattended.

Finding the door open, he went upstairs and found that 10 of the family members were hanging from an iron grill meant for ventilation.

"I informed the neighbours. In the meantime, I searched for Narayan Aunty, who was found dead in the adjacent room. At 7.30 am, a call to the police control room was made and the crime team reached the spot," Gurucharan said.

courtesy:Yahoo