11 of family found dead in Delhi, murder suspected
New Delhi, July 1 : Police on Sunday filed a case of "massacre" after finding 11 members of a family, some blindfolded, hanging from an iron grill ceiling in a north Delhi home in what was initially thought to be mass suicide.
After some hours of investigation, Additional Commissioner of Police Vinit Kumar said that the case had been handed over to the Crime Branch.
The gruesome sight of 10 members of the family hanging and a 77-year-old woman lying dead on the floor at Sant Nagar in Burari area sent shockwaves in the neighbourhood and beyond after their images went viral on the social media.
"During investigation, a case of murder has been registered based on the facts and circumstances," Kumar said.
The deceased were identified as Narayani Devi (77), her two sons Bhavnesh (50) and Lalit (45), her daughter-in-laws Savita (48) and Teena (42), her daughter Pratibha (57) as well as Priyanka (33), Nitu (25), Monu (23), Dhruv (15) and Shivam (15). The family hailed from Rajasthan.
Bhavnesh, a grocery store owner, and Lalit, who ran a plywood store, were brothers.
"Their (grocery) shop would open by 6 a.m. daily. When it did not open till 7.30 today, a neighbour, who came to buy milk, checked and found the main door open, prompting him to call the police," Joint Commissioner of Police Rajesh Khurana said.
What police found surprising was that the house was found to have been neither ransacked nor any precious item, including mobile phones, disturbed and missing. The gold jewellery on the bodies of females had not been taken, Kumar said.
A search of the house led to certain hand-written notes which the officer said pointed towards "observance of some definite spiritual and mystical practices by the whole family".
"Incidentally, these notes have strong similarity with the manner in which the mouths, eyes and other parts of the deceased were tied and taped. The same is being investigated further to establish its links with the deaths," the officer added.
A team of doctors has been set up to conduct autopsy. Police are awaiting the forensics and post-mortem report. Officer Khurana said earlier that police were checking the CCTV footage.
A neighbour insisted right in the morning that it could not be mass suicide and that Lalit and Bhavnesh were very friendly persons. "I spoke to Bhavnesh last night. He was very happy and there was no sign of any stress."
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the area in the morning.
"It is a tragic incident. I have spoken to the police. Let's wait for their investigation to be over," Kejriwal told reporters.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Kerala woman on trek at Tadiandamol hills goes missing, search operations on
Bengaluru (PTI): A 36-year-old woman, who went trekking at Tadiandamol hills in Kodagu district, has gone missing inside the forest. Additional personnel and drone cameras have been deployed to search for her, Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said on Sunday.
He said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, expressing concern about the young woman's disappearance, instructed that search operations be intensified.
G S Sharanya had come alone from Kerala for the trek and stayed at a private homestay in Kakkabe village.
She had gone to the high mountain range of Tadiandamol hills in Kodagu with a guide and 15 other trekkers on April 2. She went missing that afternoon. As soon as the matter was known, five teams of 50 people, including police, the anti-Naxal squad, a dog squad and forest personnel were formed, and are conducting searches, the minister's office said in a statement.
According to Khandre, CM Siddaramaiah expressed concern about the disappearance of the young woman who went on a trek and instructed that additional personnel be deployed for the search.
"Four additional teams of 40 personnel have been deployed today. A total of 9 teams are conducting the search operation. Honest efforts continue to find the missing young woman," he said.
Further noting that, as per reports, the young woman last contacted the homestay by phone on Thursday, stating she had lost her way, the minister said, "Search is being conducted based on her phone location. Local tribal people have also rushed to help, and sophisticated thermal drone cameras have been obtained with an additional team deployed starting today."
