They tried to replicate hanging roots of banyan tree, say cops
DELHI DEATHS Cops say family enlisted steps in which they would hang themselves and was rehearsing them NEWDELHI
: Eleven members of a family, who were found dead in a house in Burari on Sunday morning, were apparently trying to replicate the hanging roots of a banyan tree or ‘vat tapasya’ (worshipping of a banyan tree), said an investigator, referring to handwritten notes recovered from the house.
The notes also suggest that the family had not only enlisted the steps in which they would hang themselves but also been rehearsing them to get it right when the time was ripe for the actual ritual, the investigator said.
Nine of the 11 members of the Bhatia family were found hanging from the iron frame in the roof meant for ventilation, police said on Monday. “The notes repeatedly mentioned about performing ‘vat tapasya’ (worshipping the banyan tree). It made special mention of worshipping the hanging roots of the banyan tree. As per the notes, the ritual performers were to hang in a formation that would replicate the hanging roots of a banyan tree,” the investigator.
An analysis of the 50 pages of the notes has suggested that they were written by 45-year-old Lalit Bhatia who was among the dead, since 2015. “The handwritings match that of Lalit. The dates of which the notes had been taken were mentioned at many places. At others, it had been omitted. The frequency of writing the notes had increased since January. The last date mentioned in the notes is June 25,” said the investigator.
The police are scanning the CCTV footage from a banquet hall where the family had on June 17 organised the engagement ceremony of Priyanka, a 33-year-old woman who was among the dead. “We are checking if a godman or an occultist came to the celebration,” said an investigator.
Though the initial notes did not suggest hanging from the ceiling, but they point out that the family had been tying the hands, covering the eyes and mouth and plugging the ears with cotton -the ritualistic steps. Some notes spoke of the family members untying each other after the ‘rehearsal’, police said.
A senior officer, who is privy to the probe, said Lalit seemed to be the one leading the ritual. “He wrote about dreaming about his father who died years ago and taking instructions about property, business and family responsibilities from him. He would 8 ‘taped’ cellphones on silent mode were kept in a drawer and was mentioned in the recovered handwritten notes. 11 plastic pipes, protruding from a wall of the house, weren’t connected to any water source, police say.
The main door of the house has 11 iron rods.
Main door was left open when the ‘religious ritual’ was performed. Police said the family chose not to close the door.
The family had ordered 20 chapatis but no curry, dal or vegetables from a nearby restaurant.
All 11 family members were blindfolded, their ears plugged with cotton and mouths closed with tape. Nine of them had their limbs tied.
Out of the 11 family members, nine were found
attribute all the ritualistic activities to ‘upar se aadesh’ (orders from the higher powers),” said the officer.
The notes also spoke about strictly following the rituals to escape consequences. “Chintan karo, chinta mat karo (Contemplate, do not worry),” the note said. Lalit also wrote about his illness in third person. “Lalit ke swasthya ki chinta mat karna...mere aane se prabhaav padta hai (don’t worry about Lalit’s health. His problems are because of my visit).”
Police suspect he may have been suffering from “delusional disorder”. “We will seek help from a psychoanalyst and also ask relatives about his mental condition,” said the investigator.
According to Ahmed Ali, a carpenter and domestic help who worked full time with the family, said Lalit had been suffering from neck and back pain for the last three months. “He would often be taking rest and I would take care of his business,” said Ali who has been with the family for seven years.
Ali said the family was “bahut dharmik (very religious)”, but he never noticed anything unusually odd in their behaviour to suggest they were planning something like this. “The family was well-off, but did not own a car or a motorcycle. They travelled by public transport and recently advised me against buying a motorcycle. They were a very hanging with iron rods of a ceiling ventilator.
Only the eldest among the dead, 77-year-old
Narayan Devi, was found lying in a room. content family. They wouldn’t sell tobacco products at their grocery shop,” said Ali.
“The mornings would begin with each member touching the feet of their elders. The family would definitely have one meal together. They prayed thrice everyday and would not hesitate from praying at churches, mosques and gurdwaras,” said Ali.
He never noticed the family praying to a particular deity, but remembered Shirdi Sai Baba’s photos in the house. “They had a large worshipping place in the house earlier. But they brought a smaller one during the ongoing renovation of their home. The new temple did not have any photos or statues of deities,” said Ali.
Sujata, a sister of the two dead men, Bhavnesh and Lalit, refused to believe the police’s theories about ritualistic practices. “They prayed everyday and chanted the Hanuman Chalisa, but that does not explain police’s version. I am unaware of their contacts with any tantriks or babas,” she said.
On Monday, more people emerged who claimed that their last conversations with the family indicated that they looked at a future rather than death.
Lalit’s brother-in-law, Jeevan Bahadur, said he spoke to the family over phone at 10.30 pm on Saturday. “We planned to have a get together in Dhar (Madhya Pradesh) a week later,” said Bahadur. 2 notebooks in which rituals were written were found in the prayer area of the house.
The pet dog was kept chained on the 2nd floor. When police found it, the dog had high fever. Crowd gather at the spot where 11 members of a family were found dead in their house in Burari on Sunday morning.