Burari Deaths: Post-mortem, police reports hint at suicide pact

Mystery continues to shroud the death of 11 people in Burari, but for now a suicide pact seems like the most credible theory. While the family has denied it, notes recovered from the spot and post-mortem report indicate that the family committed suicide as part of a religious practice. The post-mortem of all the 11 people who were found dead at their house in north Delhi’s Burari locality has been completed. According to police, preliminary it looks like a case of suicide. Speaking to ANI, Alok Kumar, Joint CP Crime Branch said, ” initial reports suggest suicide, further investigation is underway”.

Eleven members of a family, including seven women and two children, were found dead at their residence early on Sunday morning. The postmortem has not found any signs of strangulation or scuffle.Initial reports suggested 77-year-old Narayan Devi died due to strangulation, but according to PTI reports, doctors have said that she had died due to “partial hanging”.

Police suspect that the deaths were part of a suicide pact, carried out in accordance with a religious practice, as handwritten notes found on the spot indicated. Some of the notes stated that “one will not die” but attain something “great”, the officer said. Those who were found hanging had their mouth taped and their faces covered with cloth pieces cut from a single bed sheet. Only Narayan’s face was not covered.The bodies will be handed over to the family for last rites later in the day.

The deceased were identified as Narayan, who was found dead on the floor, her daughter Pratibha (57), her two sons Bhavnesh (50) and Lalit Bhatia (45).Bhavnesh’s wife Savita (48) and their three children – Meenu (23), Nidhi (25) and Dhruv (15) were among the deceased. Lalit Bhatia’s wife Tina (42) and their 15-year-old son Shivam were also among those found dead along with Pratibha’s daughter Priyanka (33), who was engaged last month and supposed to get married this year end.

However, the family of the deceased have denied any suicide angle and have alleged murder. Sujata Nagpal, the daughter of the 77-year-old Narayan Devi who was found dead on the floor in the house, accused the media of speculating things and circulating suicide theories.”I used to speak to my mom every alternate day. Everything was going fine within our family. We are a well educated family and do not believe in babas. It’s not a case of suicide. Media has been speculating things and publishing wrong info about my family members committing suicide,” she said. Geeta Thakral, Devi’s niece, said she suspect someone from outside the family was involved in the deaths.