Police Find Step-by-step Suicide Manual In Burari Death Case, Relatives Allege Murder

It is as bizarre as bizarre could be. Eleven bodies in a room and eleven pipes protruding from a wall on the backside of the Bhatia residence! Out of those pipes, seven are tilted and four are straight. Interestingly, among the dead, seven were women and four were men.

Not just this, the manner in which the pipes are protruding out of the wall are curiously similar to the pattern in which the bodies were placed. What has confounded the mystery further is that there is no water source near the sewage pipes which face an empty plot adjacent to the building.

Two diaries were found with instructions on death and salvation. By an uncanny coincidence, the bodies were found — faces wrapped up, mouths taped and hands tied behind the back – strictly as per the directions. The police said the notes contained details of a “Badh puja” ritual, which means “everybody should hang like the branches of a banyan tree”. Everybody should be on board, it was asserted in the jottings.’’

The notes said no one could use the phone, so six phones were left together on silent mode. According to the police, the “instructions also “included choosing a Thursday or Sunday for the death ritual. ‘‘The notes also stated that one person had to stand guard to ensure that others have hanged themselves,” said the official privy to the investigation. They detailed how by following the rituals, one would not actually die “but would be saved by God and attain something greater”.

The diaries had instructions on how an elderly person, who has problems in climbing a stool, can perform the rituals. It’s being investigated who had penned these notes, which point at bizarre tantric and occult practices. It is also being probed whether the family believed in any cult or ‘godman’.

EYES DONATED: The belief in the occult notwithstanding, all the deceased had pledged their eyes.

The post-mortem of six of the 11 family members has been conducted. The report revealed that the reason behind the death was asphyxiation; but there was no signs of struggle. The post-mortem of rest of the five members is yet to be done. The report further added that no physical marks were present on the body, besides the ligature marks.

DAUGHTER DEBUNKS THEORIES: Sujata Nagpal, the daughter of the 77-year-old Narayan Devi who was found dead on the floor, accused the media of speculating and taking a sadistic pleasure in spinning suicide theories. “I used to speak to my mom every alternate day. Everything was fine. We are a well-educated family and do not believe in babas. It is not a case of mass suicide,’’ she said.

Geeta Thakral, Devi’s niece, said she suspects an outsider was involved in the deaths. She said the family was looking forward to the wedding of Priyanka (33), who was among the deceased, and had got engaged the previous month. According to CCTV footage, a delivery man came to the house to deliver food at 10:40 pm. No one came in or went out until a neighbour found the bodies in the morning.