In a case straight out of Ripley's, 11 members of a family were found hanging in the hallway of their house on Sunday morning, in what police believes is “mass suicide”. The Bhatia family in north Delhi's Sant Nagar killed themselves, some probably being assisted by others, driven by bizarre religious or occult beliefs, a medical board that conducted the autopsies said. It concluded that all the deaths were caused by “ante-mortem hanging” (asphyxiation).
Initial findings of the board comprising six doctors suggest that even the family matriarch, Narayani Bhatia, 77, had died of “partial hanging”. She is believed to have strangled herself using a belt and chunni, both of which were recovered from the spot, tied to the handle of an almirah. Sources said position of her body indicate she pulled herself off the bed after tying the noose. Strangulation by any means apart from hanging has been ruled out in all 11 cases. None of the bodies have any injuries other than ligature marks. No other fingerprints other than those of family members have been found.
Relatives of the deceased members informed authorities that Narayani's youngest son Lalit, 45, often “saw” his dead father in dreams and “took instructions” from him. Diaries were seized from the house with notings that prove the allegations. Notes on how the suicides should be conducted were also found in the diary. Cops are also investigating whether Lalit had become delusional and drove the others to take the extreme step. Police are also looking at the possible role of a godman or occultist who may have guided the family in “achieving salvation” or “meeting” their dead patriarch. They will also look if the children or the women were sedated or poisoned before the act. Their viscera have been preserved and will be sent for toxicology tests.
The Delhi Police will issue a formal statement once the final postmortem report is given to them next week. Police commissioner Amulya Patnaik has formed a crime branch team comprising joint commissioner Alok Kumar and DCP Joy Tirkey to unravel the baffling deaths. The team is currently analysing the call details of the people the family was in touch with in the final week. Nine mobile phones and an iPad was found in a drawer in the room where the family used to sit for prayers. The phones are being scrutinised and a cybercrime team has been put on the job of scanning the internet browsing history from all the laptops and computers found in the house to see if anyone was reading occult material.
