New Delhi, July 6: The Delhi Police Crime Branch investigating the June 30 hanging of 11 members of a Burari family here suspects that one of the deceased, Lalit Bhatia, visited cremation grounds and was interested in ghosts and spirits, an official said on Friday.

The theory was based on an entry in the registers seized from the house in Sant Nagar in north Delhi. Police has said the handwriting is of Lalit's now-dead niece Priyanka.

The Crime Branch official said Priyanka had 'liked' a Facebook page hosting content on ghosts as well as pages with spiritual content, astrology and motivational thoughts.

He said Lalit researched death and the mysteries of soul, apart from watching on his mobile phone the videos on paranormal and ghosts on 'YouTube' and other Internet platforms.

A Crime Branch team has also visited Rajasthan's Udaipur to quiz the family of Lalit's wife Tina, who was among the 11 family members found hanging on June 30.

"We wanted to know if Tina had shared something about Lalit or the activities of her in-laws with her family. It will help us analyse the nature of Lalit and other dead family members," a senior official said on the condition of anonymity.

Besides, the Crime Branch recorded the statement of 13 relatives who stayed at the Sant Nagar house for 10 days from June 14 onwards due to engagement of Priyanka that was held on June 16. After they returned to their respective homes, Lalit had started the ritual from June 24 that finally ended with the hanging of 11 family members, police claims.

"These relatives can reveal what they felt while staying with the family, especially Lalit's behaviour in these 10 days," the officer said.

The Crime Branch has given a clean chit to occultist Geeta Ma who was in touch with the family, even a section of media had claimed her involvement, Deputy Commissioner of Police Joy N. Tirkey said.

Investigators are convinced that it was a case of mass suicide during a ritual performed by the family which was suffering from a shared psychological disorder.



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Dhar (MP) (PTI): A 25-year-old woman and her lover have been arrested in the district for allegedly conspiring to kill her husband by hiring a contract killer, police said on Thursday.

The case was solved within 36 hours of the murder though the woman initially tried to mislead the police by claiming that robbers killed her husband, an official said.

Dev Krishna Purohit (28) was stabbed to death on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday at his house in Gondikheda Charan village, about 60 km from here. 

Superintendent of Police Mayank Awasthi told reporters that accused Priyanka Purohit (25) was married to Dev Krishna when she was around 15 years old. Priyanka moved to her matrimonial home after attaining adulthood but was unwilling to live with her husband, leading to frequent disputes between them. 

During investigation, it emerged that she was in a relationship with Kamlesh (32), the SP said. 

The duo allegedly hatched a plan to kill Dev Krishna and hired a man identified as Surendra for Rs 1 lakh do the job, he said

After Dev Krishna was killed, Priyanka told police that unidentified persons broke into the house, attacked her husband with a sharp weapon while holding her captive in another room, and fled with valuables. 

But the inconsistencies in her statements raised suspicion, and eventually she confessed to hatching the murder conspiracy, the SP said.

While she and Kamlesh were arrested, police are looking for the contract killer, the official added.