Delhi Police, it seems that have finally arrived at a conclusion in the case of mysterious death of 11 in Burari. After questioning about 20 relatives of the family, the Police have decided to rope in a psychiatrist to assist their investigation.
Police couldn’t garner any substantial evidence regarding the involvement of a Kondli- based godman who was accused of the family’s death by some quarters. They recovered some notes from 2008 which suggested that Lalit Bhatia, Narayan Devi’s son, turned to spirituality after his father’s death that year.
After questioning about 20 family members which included family matriarch’s eldest son, her daughter and one of her deceased daughters-in-law’s sisters, the Police understood that none of them agreed with the argument that the Bhatia family followed any “occult” rituals.
See also:Delhi Mass Suicide: Police is cracking mystery behind ‘unusually’ placed 11 pipes in the House
The Police ruled out any relation to the awkwardly placed pipes with the death of the family.
So it was at this point, a senior police officer spoke to doctors from VIMHANS on Monday and after the consultation decided to probe on the “shared psychosis” factor in the case. Shared Psychosis is a condition in which one person’s delusional beliefs are transmitted to others.
Lalit Bhatia(45) had been assuming his dead father’s alter ego and claimed to talk with his deceased soul, said the Police examining the notes which they got from the house. The account of the neighboring kids that Dhruv(15), grandson of Lalit saying “kaka par dada aate hain” (uncle is often possessed by grandfather’s spirit) has been also taken into account by the police. They are now probing the chances of Lalit’s delusional beliefs getting transmitted to other family members.
Ten of the 11 members of the Bhatia family were found hanging from an iron-mesh in the ceiling on Sunday, while the body of 77-year-old Narayan Devi, the head of the family, was lying on the floor in another room of the house. Devi’s daughter Pratibha (57), her two sons Bhavnesh (50) and Lalit Bhatia (45) were also among the deceased. Bhavnesh’s wife Savita (48) and their three children – Meenu (23), Nidhi (25), and Dhruv, aged 15, too were found dead. Lalit Bhatia’s wife Tina (42) and their 15-year-old son Shivam were also among those found dead. Pratibha’s daughter Priyanka (33), who was engaged last month and would have married by the end of this year, was also found hanging.
An inspection conducted by the Crime Branch team on the crime scene revealed a register whose earliest entries were from 2011 and had psychological musings and notes about “salvation”, “shunya” and “appeasing God”.
A delivery boy who had come to deliver 20 rotis to the family on June 30, just a day before the family’s hanging, was the last person to see them alive. On questioning him, the Crime Branch Team came to know that there had been no unusual behavior on the part of the family then.
A Crime Branch team, led by a Deputy Commissioner of Police-rank officer, questioned deceased Narayan Devi’s eldest son, Dinesh, her daughter Sujata Nagpal, deceased Priyanka’s fiance at the police station. They also questioned Lalit’s wife Tina’s sisters since the investigation had revealed that Lalit and Tina were the ones, who had convinced the family about performing the rituals to attain “salvation”.
Some neighbors were also questioned and some distant relatives who had attended Priyanka’s engagement last month were also questioned.
Tina’s three sisters, who stay in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, also denied any such things and claimed that their brother-in-law and sister worshipped God like any other person and there was nothing that would point towards their involvement in “occult” practices.
Lalit’s elder brother Dinesh and sister Sujata were also questioned and they also maintained that the family was not into the occult or did not follow any tantrik or godmen.
Priyanka’s fiance, who was also questioned, said that she was a normal woman and had never mentioned “occult” practices. He said that nothing in her behavior indicated that she was thinking of committing suicide. Theirs was an arranged match and even when things were finalized, the Bhatia family had not carried out any rituals that would arouse suspicion, he told police. He also said that Priyanka and he would talk often and would also discuss their coming wedding.
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