New Delhi: Ten members of a family were found hanging in their house on Sunday morning. The dead body of an elderly woman was found in the adjacent room. The deceased include an elderly woman, her two sons, their wives, five children and the elderly woman’s daughter. The family owned a grocery shop near the local gurudwara and also ran a furniture business.
A neighbour spotted the bodies early in the morning and informed the police. Police rushed its forensic team to the spot. The neighbour who had spotted the bodies had gone to the family’s shop to buy milk. When he found the shop shut, he went upstairs to call the owner and saw the bodies.
“He found the family members were hanging from a net used for ventilation. He then informed others and police were informed later on,” the police said.
The cops reviewed the CCTV footage of the area and found that nobody entered the house during the night. Mystery shrouds the death of 11 members as it has not been ascertained whether it is a case of murder or mass suicide. The police are awaiting post-mortem reports.
Police sources revealed that the deaths were planned days in advance. Police sources said that three members wanted to commit suicide but later decided to kill the entire family. They mixed sedatives in the food which was later served as dinner to the family. After the members passed out because of the sedative, their hands were tied and they were hanged.
Sources also revealed that the three members had decided to write a suicide note but decided against it later. The case has been transferred to the crime branch.
The family’s pet labrador was tethered on the terrace so that he doesn’t bark when the family members were being hanged. The police have collected fingerprints from the dog’s leash and will use them to ascertain who was behind the crime.
Several neighbours are also pointing towards a religious angle to the death. Neighbours have revealed that the family was religious and used to hang quotations written on a small board outside their house. Some sources claim that the family committed suicide to attain moksha.
Some handwritten notes have been found in the house which point towards the family’s disposition towards some spiritual/mystical practices. Coincidentally, the hands and mouths of the deceased were tied in the same manner as mentioned in the notes.
The family’s eldest member, Narayana (75) was found with her throat slit. The police have ascertained that Narayana was killed and a murder case under Section 302 of the IPC has been registered. Meanwhile, the police are awaiting the post-mortem reports for the other 10 members.
Locals also revealed that the suicide/murder must have taken place after 12 am on Sunday as many members of the house were spotted outside before 12 am.
Police are also scanning the call records of all the family members to find some clue. Delhi Police’s Joint Commissioner said that “police is not ruling out any angle” till the reports are out.
A man working at the family’s plywood store said that there were no internal conflicts in the family and the family wasn’t undergoing any financial problems as well. He said that he has been working at the shop since the past four years and hadn’t seen any rift between the family. Preliminary investigations ruled out any robbery attempt in the house.
