NEW DELHI: Lending weight to the police theory that all 11 members of the Bhatia family in north Delhi’s Sant Nagar had killed themselves — some probably being assisted by others — driven by bizarre religious or occult beliefs, the medical board that conducted the autopsies said on Monday that all the deaths were caused by “ante-mortem hanging.
Ten of the family members were found hanging in the hallway of their house on Sunday morning in what police said was a “mass suicide” case.
The initial findings of the board comprising six doctors suggest that even the family matriarch, Narayani Bhatia (77), had died of “partial hanging”.
Narayani is believed to have strangled herself using a belt and chunni, both recovered from the spot, tied to the handle of an almirah. Sources said the position of the body indicated that 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, sources said. None of the bodies have any injuries other than ligature marks. Forensic officials have also not found any other fingerprints at the spot other than those of family members.
Relatives have told cops that Narayani’s youngest son, Lalit, 45, often “saw” his dead father in dreams and “took instructions” from him. The nothings in the diaries seized from the house also point in this direction. The diary had notes on how the suicides should be conducted.
Cybercrime team analyzing browsing history of family
The cops are now 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.
The Delhi Police will issue a formal statement after 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 analysing the call details of the people the family was in touch with in final week.
The cops have found nine mobile phones and an iPad in a drawer in the room where the family used to sit for prayers. The phones are being scrutinized. 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. Their social media profiles are also being scanned. Sixteen CCTV cameras in the area were scanned but no suspicious person was found entering the house.
