New Delhi: Handwritten notes found at the house in north Delhi’s Burari where 11 of a family were found dead, indicate observance of spiritual or mystical practices by the family.
The Bhatia family had been writing down the steps to attain “mass salvation”, which will now serve as clues for police to unravel the mystery behind the 11 deaths.
“Pattiyan achchhe se baandhni hai.. Shunya ke alaawa kuch nahi dikhna chahiye.. Rassi ke saath sooti chunniyan ya sari ka prayog Karna hai.. (Everyone should be blindfolded properly, nothing but zenith should be visible to the eyes. A chunni or a sari should be used along with a rope ),” reads one of the last pages of a diary recovered from the house in Sant Nagar, Burari.
The notes even specify the favourable day and time on which these ‘Kriyas’ should be performed. “Saat din Bad pooja lagataar karni hai.. thoda lagan aur shraddha se.. Koi ghar me aa jaaye to agle din.. Guruvaar ya Ravivaar ko chunein… (Worship the Banyan tree for seven days at a stretch with devotion. If somebody comes home then do it the next day. Choose Thursday or Sunday as the day of the act). The notes even specify the favourable time as midnight to 1am.
Police said the condition in which the bodies were found have stark similarities with what was written in the diary. The bodies were hanging in batches of three, while one was hanging from the window grille. The “ bebbe” (Narayani) was lying in a separate room. The note read: “ Bebbe khadi nahi ho sakti to alag kamre me late sakti hain (The elderly women can’t stand so she can lie down in another room.)”
The deceased were identified as Narayan Devi (77), her two sons Bhavnesh (50)and Lalit (45), her daughters-in-law Savita (48) and Teena (42), her daughter Pratibha (57), her grandchildren Priyanka (33), Nitu (25), Monu (23), Dhruv (15) and Shivam (15).