By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Eleven members of a joint family, seven of them women and two children, were found dead early Sunday morning in Burari area of Delhi. Prima facie it appeared to be a case of suicide due to certain “spiritual/mystical” practice, the police said. While 10 bodies were found hanging from an iron-mesh ceiling, that of a 77-year-old woman, the oldest member of the family was found in an adjacent room. The mouth and eyes of all the bodies found hanging were covered with cloth and taped, which suggested an occult angle to the deaths. The hands and feet of both children were tied as well. While post-mortem reports are awaited, a Delhi police statement said: “The house was found to have been neither ransacked nor any precious item, including mobile phones found missing... During search of the house certain handwritten notes were found, which point towards observance of some spiritual/mystical practices by the whole family.” The deceased were identified as Narayan Devi (77), her daughter Pratibha (57), her two sons Bhavnesh (50) and Lalit Bhatia (45); Bhavnesh’s wife Savita (48) and their three children - Meenu (23) and Nidhi (25), and Dhruv (15); and Bhatia’s wife Tina (42) and son Shivam (15). Bhavnesh ran a grocery store in the ground floor of their house and would open it at 6 am sharp. “But the shop was not open till 7 am, which was unusual as he was very particular about timings. When we peeped into their house, we spotted the bodies,” said an eyewitness.Devi had three sons and two daughters. The eldest son Dinesh Bhatia lives in Kota. Apart from Pratibha, her other daughter Sujata lives in Panipat.A case of murder has been registered. It will be investigated by the crime branch.<doc-sep>Eleven members of a family were found dead at their home in north Delhi's Burari this morning. Eleven members of a family were found dead at their home in north Delhi's Burari this morning. Ten of the victims were found hanging from an iron grill ceiling, while an elderly woman was found lying on the floor, police said. Most of them were blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs. The incident came to light when a neighbour went to check on Bhatia family, who ran a grocery shop and plywood business out of their home in Burari's Sant Nagar. They have been living in the area for the last two decades. Every morning, their shop would open by 6, but when it didn't till 7.30 today, a neighbour went to check on the family. Finding the door open, he went inside and saw the family members hanging from the grill ceiling. Here are the updates on the story: Jul 01, 2018 19:15 (IST) During a search of the house, certain handwritten notes were found, which point to the observance of some definite "spiritual or mystical practices by the family," a communique from the police said in the evening. "Coincidentally, the notes have strong similarity with the manner in which the mouths, eyes, etc of the deceased were tied and taped," the communique read. The police are investigating the possibility of the deaths being linked to occult practices. Jul 01, 2018 19:06 (IST) Crime Branch to probe deaths The Delhi Police's Crime Branch will be probing the mysterious death of 11 members of a family in north Delhi's Burari this morning, a senior officer said, PTI reported. Ten bodies were found hanging and blindfolded, while a 77-year-old woman's body was found on the floor. Two of the deceased are minors, police said. Jul 01, 2018 17:43 (IST) Forensic team and police found strangulation marks on the body of the 75-year-old woman. A case of murder has been registered as police suspect someone killed the elderly woman and then committed suicide. Post-mortem is still on and further information is underway. Jul 01, 2018 13:42 (IST) बुराङी के एक ही परिवार के 11 लोगो की असमायिक मृत्यु दुखद घटना है। शोक की घङी में हम परिजनों एवं सगे संबंधियों के साथ है मृत्यु के कारणों को पुलिस प्रशासन गंभीरतापूर्वक संज्ञान ले तथा कारवाई करे। - Sanjay Singh AAP (@SanjayAzadSln) July 1, 2018 Jul 01, 2018 13:21 (IST) Delhi Crime: 11 Of Family Found Dead In Delhi Home, Blindfolded And Hanging Eleven members of a family were found dead at their home in north Delhi's Burari this morning. Ten of the victims were hanging from an iron grill ceiling and the body of an elderly woman was found lying on the floor, police said. Most of them were blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs." Eleven members of a family were found dead at their home in north Delhi's Burari this morning. Ten of the victims were hanging from an iron grill ceiling and the body of an elderly woman was found lying on the floor, police said. Most of them were blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs." Jul 01, 2018 13:17 (IST) The neighbour added that Bhupinder and Lalit Singh, who were brothers, were quite friendly. "They couldn't have committed suicide. I spoke to Bhupinder last night. He was very happy and there was no sign of any stress," a neighbour told news agency IANS. Jul 01, 2018 13:14 (IST) Of the victims, there were two brothers Bhupinder and Lalit Singh with the former running a grocery store and the latter was a carpenter. Both operated their businesses from their family home. Jul 01, 2018 13:11 (IST) The family was into plywood business and they were staying in the locality for the last 20 years, the locals said. Jul 01, 2018 13:10 (IST) Ambulances outside the residence to carry the dead bodies Jul 01, 2018 13:03 (IST) Bodies of 7 women and 4 men including three teenagers have been found. We are investigating from all possible angles, we are not ruling out anything: Joint CP Delhi, on bodies of 11 people found at a house in Delhi's Burari pic.twitter.com/apdRPL5w8r - ANI (@ANI) July 1, 2018 Jul 01, 2018 13:01 (IST) Shri @ManojTiwariMP reached #Burari site this morning, where this unfortunate incident happened where 11 people were found dead in a house. pic.twitter.com/tAEtebpy3p - BJP Delhi (@BJP4Delhi) July 1, 2018 Jul 01, 2018 13:01 (IST) The police are currently examining the CCTV footage for clues. "We are investigating from all possible angles, we are not ruling out anything," said Rajesh Khurana, joint commissioner of police, Central Range. Jul 01, 2018 13:00 (IST) The Bhatia family ran a grocery shop and plywood business a few steps from their double-storey home in Burari's Sant Nagar. They have been living in the area for the last two decades. Jul 01, 2018 12:59 (IST) Delhi CM @ArvindKejriwal reaches #Burari site, where 11 dead bodies were found in a house, today. pic.twitter.com/aDiDDzx5n8 - AAP (@AamAadmiParty) July 1, 2018 Jul 01, 2018 12:58 (IST) Most of them were blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs.<doc-sep>Image Source : INDIA TV 7 women, 4 men of 'same family' found dead in a house in Delhi's Burari; neighbours say family had no problems At least 11 members of a family were found dead under suspicious circumstances in New Delhi's Burari area on Sunday morning. According to initial reports, the bodies were found hanging with their mouths and eyes gagged. Bodies of seven women and four men, including three teenagers, have been found. We are investigating from all possible angles, we are not ruling out anything, Joint CP Delhi told media on Sunday. The police have taken the bodies for post mortem at Guru Gobind Singh Hospital. A probe has been launched. The police are not certain if the deaths were a result of suicide or murder. According to sources, 10 bodies were found blindfolded and hanging from a railing in the house, while one body was found lying on the floor. India TV spoke to the first person who spotted the bodies and informed the police. The neighbour, Gurcharan Singh, said that the family used to open their grocery store sharp at 6 am, today when the shop remained closed till 7:45 am he went to check up on them at their first floor residence and found them dead. He said that he found 10 bodies hanging by dupatas, while the body of the 75-year-old woman was lying on the floor. The members of the deceased family included: 1. Narayan 75 yrs female 2. Partibha d/o Narayan 60 yrs female 3. Priyanka d/o Partibha 30 yrs female 4. Bhupi s/o Narayan 46 yrs male 5. Swita w/o Bhupi 42 yrs female 6. Nitu d/o Bhupi 24 yrs female 7. Meenu d/o Bhupi 22 yrs female 8. Dhiru s/o Bhupi 12 yrs make in 9. Lalit s/o Narayan 42 yrs male 10. Tina w/o Lalit 38 yrs female 11. Dhiru s/o Lalit 12 yrs male Priyanka was recently engaged. The neighbours said that the family never disclosed any financial or familial troubles in the past. They had closed the shop at the usual 11:45 pm last night and did not show any signs of distress. The police investigation has confirmed that the elderly lady was killed by asphyxiation, but cause of other deaths is yet to be confirmed. Watch video: Latest India News<doc-sep>
Image Source : PTI Burari mass deaths In a gruesome sight, 11 members of a family were found dead -- some blindfolded and hanging from an iron grill ceiling -- at their house in Delhi's Burari on Sunday, sending shockwaves across the national capital. Ten bodies were found hanging and blindfolded, while a 77-year-old woman's body was found on the floor. Two of the deceased are minors, police said. The mystery has further deepened with the latest revealation made by Delhi Police, hinting at "spiritual and mystical practices" by the entire family. During a search of the house, the police found certain handwritten notes pointing towards observance of some definite spiritual/mystical practices by the whole family. Coincidentally, these notes have strong similarity with the manner in which the mouths, eyes of the deceased were tied and taped. The same is being investigated further to establish its links with the deaths, police said. A case of murder has been registered at Burari police station in the incident, police said, adding the case has been handed over to the Crime Branch. India TV spoke to the first person who spotted the bodies and informed the police, their neighbour Gurcharan Singh. He said that the family used to open their grocery store sharp at 6 am, today when the shop remained closed till 7:45 am, he went to check up on them at their first floor residence and found them dead. He said that he found 10 bodies hanging by dupattas, while the body of the 75-year-old woman was lying on the floor. The neighbours said that the family never disclosed any financial or familial troubles in the past. They had closed the shop at the usual 11:45 pm last night and did not show any signs of distress. The victims have been identified as Narayan Devi (77), her daughter Pratibha (57) and two sons--Bhavnesh (50) and Lalit Bhatia (45). Bhavnesh's wife Savita (48) and their three children--Meenu (23), Neetu (25) and Dhruv (15) were also found dead, police said, adding Lalit's wife Tina (42) along with their 15-year-old son Shivam was also among the dead. Pratibha's daughter, Priyanka (33), who had got engaged last month and was supposed to get married by the end of this year, was also found hanging. WATCH: Timeline of Burari case Latest India News