Over 200 people have been questioned in connection with the death of 11 members of a family in north Delhi’s Burari. Even though initial investigations suggest that all 11 died of hanging, the police are awaiting the final postmortem report in the case. The police are certain that it was a case of ‘mass suicide’, a senior police officer said.
One of the deceased, 33-year-old Priyanka Bhatia’s fiance was questioned for close to 3 hours again, where he denied having any information about the family indulging in certain kinds of rituals.
A psychological autopsy of the deceased will be carried out after receiving the report, to ascertain what prompted them for replicating ‘badh tapasya’, a banyan-tree like formation.
The police had recovered CCTV footage last Wednesday, which showed some family members bringing wires and stools that were used for hanging.
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Devi’s daughter Pratibha (57), her two sons Bhavnesh (50) and Lalit (45) were also among the deceased. Bhavnesh’s wife Savita (48) and their three children – Maneka (23), Neetu (25), and Dhirendra, aged 15, two were found dead.
Lalit Bhatia’s wife Tina (42) and their 15-year-old son Dushyant were also among those found dead. Pratibha’s daughter Priyanka, who was engaged last month and would have married by the end of this year, was also found hanging.
Last Wednesday, the police had recovered CCTV footage that showed some members bringing stools and wires that were used for their hanging. They had also found 11 diaries which had “psychological musings” and things about attaining “road to God”.
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