Spiritual reason behind death of 11 members of a family

DAINIK NATION BUREAU

A bunch of handwritten notes found in a couple of registers have given fresh direction to the investigation into the deaths of a family of 11 in north Delhi’s Burari. The notes – which talk of strange religious beliefs — provide a motive in the case, say the police, who initially thought it was mass suicide and then said it could be mass murder by one of the family, who then committed suicide.

Ten of the 11 people – two men, six women and two teens – were found hanging in the courtyard of the house. The faces of the bodies were bandaged across the eyes and mouth. Some of the bodies had their hands and feet tied as well. Another woman, 77-year-old Narayan Devi was found dead in another room. It appeared that she had been strangled.

The notes provided a shocking clue. “The human body is temporary and one can overcome fear by covering their eyes and mouth,” read one, according to news agency Press Trust of India.

A police officer said the notes talk about how one can attain salvation and how the human body is temporary but the soul always continues to live on.

“The notes say if a group of 11 people follows these rituals, all problems would ease out and they would attain salvation. Some notes have dates on which they were written while others didn’t have it. All the notes talk about reaching the end and gaining peace,” reported PTI, quoting one of the officers investigating the case.

The police are now looking into the family’s links with godmen or occult practitioners.

“We have found handwritten notes detailing how hands and legs are to be tied and are quite similar to the manner in which the bodies of 10 persons were found. They are exhaustive notes and we are studying them,” Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Alok Kumar was quoted as saying by PTI.