New Delhi, July 2: Post-mortem of six of the 11 bodies of family members found dead in a house in North Delhi's Burari was completed today. According to reports, 10 of the 11 people which included two men, six women and two teens, were found hanging in the courtyard of their house on Sunday. Reports say that the family members have donated the eyes of the deceased.
"First thing we did was to donate their eyes that could provide eyesight to 22 people, considering the family was religious and always wanted to help others. We gave approval letter yesterday," said Navneet Batra, a friend of the family, as quoted by ANI.
As per police reports, 10 of those dead were found hanging from an iron-mesh in the ceiling for ventilation, while the body of a 77-year-old woman was lying on the floor in another room of the house. The incident came to light after the Police were informed by the neighbour that six to seven people have committed suicide. On reaching the spot, the Police found that 11 people were dead.
At first, the police had said that the reason behind the mysterious deaths was believed to be 'ligature hanging' as no signs of struggle were found. According to a PTI report, the police found handwritten notes which indicated a "religious or spiritual angle" to the deaths. Police said a probe will be conducted to find "if the family indulged in occult practices" or they followed "any godman".
"We have found handwritten notes detailing how hands and legs are to be tied and the manner in which the bodies of the 10 persons were found reflected what was written in the notes. They are exhaustive notes and we are studying them," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Alok Kumar was quoted by PTI.
The report informs that the notes talk of strange religious beliefs and strikes off a possibility of mass suicide. The deceased were identified as Narayan Devi, who was found dead on the floor, her daughter Pratibha (57), her two sons Bhavnesh (50) and Lalit Bhatia (45). According to a PTI report, Bhavnesh's wife Savita (48) and their three children - Meenu (23), Nidhi (25) and Dhruv (15). Lalit Bhatia's wife Tina (42) and their 15-year-old son Shivam were also among those found dead. Meanwhile, Pratibha's daughter Priyanka (33), who was engaged last month and would have married by the end of this year, was also found hanging.
One of the investigators informed that the notes talk about if a group of 11 people follows these rituals, all problems would ease out and they would attain salvation. Some notes have dates on which they were written while others don't. He further added that all the notes talk about reaching the end and gaining peace.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 02, 2018 12:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).