Mystery of India on the "house of mass hangings" of Delhi

The funeral of 11 members of an extended family – 10 of which were found hanging from the ceiling of their home in the Indian capital Delhi – will take place on Monday night after post-mortem examinations, police said. said that the case could be a case of "collective suicide linked to spiritual and mystical practices" based on notes that they found in the house on Sunday morning. However, they have not yet ruled out the murder.

Here are the details to date on the case, which seized the country:

What do we know about the family?

The 11 dead are members of the Bhatia family. They include a 75-year-old Narayan Devi, his daughter, two sons, their wives and five grandchildren aged 33 to 15 years.

All were found with the exception of Narayan Devi who was lying on the floor. from the ceiling of their house.

Their hands were tied behind their backs and their eyes and their mouths were covered with tissue.

The family lived in a three-storey house in Burari, a largely middle-clbad area of ​​North Delhi. Although originally from the neighboring state of Rajasthan, they lived there for more than 20 years.

They operated two stores on the ground floor of their home – one was selling groceries and the other was selling plywood

Neighbors say the family were active members of the community and describe them as "religious, happy and financially comfortable"

The oldest grandchild – Priyanka – was betrothed two weeks ago. The family had organized a big party to celebrate, inviting many people to the area.

"They have never had problems with anyone, we have never seen them fight," said one of their neighbors, TP Sharma, at the BBC in Hindi.

One parent said that the eyes of the family had been given to a bank of eyes because "they always wanted to help others".

Was it a murder or a suicide?

We do not know yet.

The circumstances surrounding death are all very mysterious.

The bodies were found by a neighbor, Gurcharan Singh, who was sent by his wife to check why the general store had not opened at his usual time.

million. Singh was quoted by the Indian Express newspaper, saying that they also thought it was odd that the family did not turn on their hydraulic motor at 4:30 am, which they did all the days.

"When I walked in, all the doors were open and hanging from the ceiling, their hands were tied, I was shocked when I saw so many bodies, so I rushed to my house and j & rsquo; I told my wife, "he told the BBC. . Police say that they were informed shortly after and rushed a team to the scene.

The house showed no sign of forced entry. Nothing else had been moved. The gold jewelry worn by the women had been left intact and their cell phones and other electronic items were also still in the house.

The only surviving member of the family was their pet dog Jacky, who was reportedly sent home. roof terrace. The neighbors say that it has not triggered any alarm at any time of the night.

The police also found a number of handwritten notes that they believe refer to "unusual practices and beliefs" and may have described a collective suicide plan as part of a spiritual practice.

The PTI news agency said the first post-mortem reports made on eight of the bodies confirmed the death by hanging. Reports also indicate that Narayan Devi died of "partial hanging" – although it is not clear why she has no rope around her neck.

The final report is still awaited.

Is there any truth in the "spiritual" theory?

It's hard to say at this point.

According to PTI, one of the notes they found said: "The human body is temporary and we can overcome fear by covering our eyes and mouth."

"We have found handwritten notes that detail how hands and legs should be tied up and look very much like how the bodies of 10 people were found, they are exhaustive notes and we study them" . Kumar is quoted as saying.

The police also told PTI that the notes seemed to suggest that this "ritual" would lead to "moksha", the Sanskrit word for salvation, which was mentioned several times.

But neighbors who described the family as devout also said that no evidence suggested that they were members of a community similar to a cult.

Sujata Bhatia, the daughter of Narayan Devi who lives elsewhere, told PTI: "I can not believe that they committed suicide, everyone was so happy, someone killed my family and the police must find them. "

Did the Indian media react?

The dead – and the mystery surrounding them – quickly made headlines in national newspapers and continue to attract media attention.

News channels broadcast images and videos of the family that were found on social networks – one of which danced together at the time of Priyanka's engagement.

Rumors refer to the house of the Bhatias. "House of Death" and notes as a "murder manual."

TV crews also invaded Burari, ostensibly searching for clues – some seem confused by the presence of 11 pipes that exceed $ 39,000. one of the walls of the house.They seem to believe that it is not a coincidence if the number of pipes equals the number of people who died.