Relatives demand CBI inquiry into deaths of 11 of family

Kin denounce police and media for allegedly labelling deceased as some sort of fanatics

The relatives of 11 family members found hanging in their Burari house denounced the police and the media for allegedly characterising the deceased as some sort of fanatics and demanded a CBI probe into the case.

Ketan Nagpal, a maternal grandson of deceased septuagenarian Narayani Devi, said: “Every Hindu family performs ‘havans’, ‘paath’ and ‘kirtans’ and so did our family. That is so common in every household and temples. But police have failed to crack the case despite the media reporting on the basis of police probe to paint us as a family of maniacs.”

“We are not happy with the Crime Branch investigation so far and demand a fair probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation. We cannot believe Lalit Bhatia indulged in the killing of his family under some mania,” Nagpal said.

A Crime Branch team meanwhile visited the family’s residence in north Delhi’s Sant Nagar and tried to recreate the sequence of events.

Police have also questioned some relatives of the deceased family members, who have since come to Delhi from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, to know whether any of the deceased family members was in touch with any self-styled spiritual guru or occultist before their deaths.

“Five stools used by the family for hanging from iron grills have been seized,” a senior police officer said, adding that new sashes were used to make the nooses used for hanging.

“The stools were purchased five days ago. When a neighbour asked the family, [one of the deceased] Lalit Bhatia’s wife Tina said these were meant for use by children for studies,” he said.

“An entry in a diary seized from worship area in the house said that each participant will tie his or her hands during the ritual and later untie those of others,” the officer added. “Police are also probing the case from an angle of mental disorder.”