Mass murder of Delhi family 

The bodies were blindfolded and gagged and were found hanging from the ceiling

New Delhi: Eleven members of a family, including seven women, were found dead under mysterious circumstances in a house in north Delhi’s Burari area on Sunday morning.

According to investigators one of the deceased could have killed the others in the belief of some spiritual practices. Ten of the bodies were blind-folded and gagged and were found hanging from the ceiling of the house opposite Guru Govind Singh Hospital, police sources said.

Delhi Police Additional Deputy Commissioner, Vinit Kumar, said in a statement on Sunday evening: "During search of the house, certain hand-written notes have been found which point towards observance of some definite spiritual/mystical practices by the whole family. Coincidentally, these notes have strong similarity with the manner in which the mouths, eyes etc of the deceased were tied and taped."

According to sources, police is suspecting that one of the dead could have killed 10 others and later committed suicide. He is suspected to have been under the influence of a tantrik. Police have registered a murder case in the incident thus ruling out suicide.

According to initial reports, the dinner of all the deceased were laced with sedatives following which they fell unconscious. The person who planned the murders then hung the family members one by one during which one woman woke up. Her throat was slit to stop her from alerting the neighbours or even escaping.

Police teams were rushed to the spot and investigation is underway. Initial reports said the police were suspecting it to be a case of suicide. However, the angle of a murder-suicide pact is also being investigated.

Now, investigators are waiting for forensic and autopsy reports to get further details on the shocking incident. Police teams at the cite came across several red stools that were lying overturned in the rooms and balcony.

A source said that the family hailed from Chittorgarh and had arrived in Delhi 22 years ago, following which they set up a grocery store and initiated a plywood business. Police were trying to get in touch with the family's relatives in Rajasthan.

The deceased were identified as Narayan Bhatia (75), her daughter Partibha (60), Partibha’s daughter Priyanka (30), Narayan’s older son Bhupi Bhatia (46), his wife Savita (42), their children Nitu (24), Meenu (22) and Dhiru (12), Narayan’s younger son Lalit Bhatia (42) and his wife Tina (38).

The family closed the shutters of their shop at 11:45 pm on Saturday and went to bed. On Sunday morning, one of their neighbours came to buy milk at the shop and found it closed. On finding the house unlocked, he went upstairs and found the bodies.

"He found the bodies hanging from a net used for ventilation. He alerted other neighbours and informed us,” a policeman said. Around noon, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari visited the area. Speaking to reporters, Kejriwal said, “I spoke to the neighbours. They said it was a very loving and social family.... We have to wait for the police to complete their investigation.”