Days after the bodies of five from a family were discovered under suspicious circumstances in South West Delhi's Vasant Kunj area, the police on Sunday (September 29) said they would study the 2018 Burari case to check if some 'occult practices' angle might allegedly be connected with the tragic incident.
The police said the forensic team, during their initial check of the incident site, found a kalawa or mauli tied on the waist, hand, and neck of the four girls, leading the team to check the records of the Burari case to connect the dots.
"In 2018, 11 family members, blindfolded and mouth-taped, were found dead at their residence in the Burari area of North Delhi. In this recent case, we found five dead bodies—a man and his four daughters, two of them differently abled—in their rented accommodation. The forensic team during the initial check found a red sacred thread tied to the girls' waist, hand, and neck."
"Our teams will check the records of the Burari case to connect the dots of this suicide," the police added.
It is pertinent to note that so far the reports over the deaths of five, identified as Heera Lal Sharma, who worked as a carpenter at the Indian Spinal Injury Centre in Vasant Kunj, and his four daughters -- Neetu (26), Nikki (24), Neeru (23) and Nidhi (20) -- were said to be held under a suicide pact.
"So far we got to know that Sharma had not spoken to anyone in the last nine months. He and his daughters were rarely seen outside. After his wife's death, the family had disconnected from everyone," a senior police officer said.
Investigation Underway
Meanwhile, the official also detailed the next line of their investigation after a packet of a sweet and the celphos tablet were also recovered from the incident site.
"The team recovered a box of sweets from the house and will also reach the sweets shop to check CCTV footage to know about his route, from where he purchased the celphos (poison), and why he took this extreme step," the officer added.
Moreover, the accident first came to life after the neighbours complained of a foul smell coming from the house. Initially, the neighbours reported the same to the building owner, where the family of the deceased lived. The caretaker knocked on the door; however, after no one responded from inside, the police were called, who broke open the door. While Sharma was found lying dead in one of the rooms, the bodies of his four daughters were found in another room.
Significantly, the police mentioned that the postmortem of the bodies is still to be held and the exact reason for the death can be said after the same.
"The postmortem will be conducted on Monday by the board of doctors. We will be able to tell the actual reason for death after the postmortem. We have formed multiple teams to know the reason behind suicide. We are also checking CCTV footage of the area and adjoining area to know with whom Sharma had last spoken and if he had shared anything with them. We are also checking mobile phone records of all the victims to know if they were in contact with anyone," Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Rohit Meena said.
(With inputs from PTI)
READ MORE | Delhi: Man, his four daughters die by suicide in Vasant Kunj's Rangpuri village
