10 blindfolded relatives found hanged in India

NEW DELHI — Police in India’s capital said they found 11 bodies at a home under mysterious circumstances Sunday, including 10 who were blindfolded and hanging.

The victims were all from the same family and most had lived in the home where they were found in Burari village in the northern part of New Delhi, said police officer Vineet Kumar.

During a search of the house, handwritten notes were found that point “toward observance of some definite spiritual or mystical practices by the whole family,” police said in a statement.

“Coincidentally, these notes have strong similarity with the manner in which the mouths, eyes etc of the deceased were tied and taped,” the statement said. It didn’t elaborate.

Kumar said police began their investigation after they received a call Sunday morning that some “members of a family have committed suicide.”

But he said that no suicide note was found, and that police were investigating whether the victims — a 77-year-old woman, her two sons and their wives, a daughter and five grandchildren — died by suicide or were killed.

There were no bullet marks on the victims’ bodies and there was no sign of forced entry into the house, Kumar said.

The police statement said the house had not been ransacked, and that no valuables were found to be missing.

Ten bodies, blindfolded by cotton and pieces of cloth, were found hanging from an iron grill used as a ventilator in the home’s courtyard, while the body of the 77-year-old woman was lying on the floor of the house, said a police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.