Police questions family, rule out role of godman

New Delhi: The case of mass suicide in Burari is getting murkier with each passing day.

In a shocking revelation, sources said that the family’s younger son Lalit Bhatia allegedly believed that his father wanted to lead them to salvation and had been writing down ‘instructions’ for him since 2015.

The police has also questioned 20 relatives of the Burari-based family in connection with the mysterious deaths. The police has ruled out the involvement of any godman.

The police recovered a third register with notes about “salvation”, “shunya” and “appeasing God”.

Policemen questioned 20 family members, including the family matriarch’s eldest son, her daughter and one of her deceased daughters-in-law’s sisters, all of whom denied that the family indulged in “occult”, said a senior police officer.

The police is now focusing on notes found in the house, which are pointing at one man’s delusions about an impending disaster. In the autopsy report, it has been clear that none of the family members showed any signs of struggle and all of them died from hanging.

Investigators probing the deaths have hinted that the family might have been suffering from ‘shared psychotic disorder’. If confirmed, then this can prove the theory leading the police to believe that Lalit may have driven the other family members to commit ‘mass suicide’.

In the latest development, the police said that the family was brainwashed by Lalit. He convinced the family that his father, who had died a decade ago, would come and save all the 11 members in the last moment of the ritual.

Lalit was somewhat eccentric and had taken a vow of silence. He claimed that he was interacting with his dead father who would talk to him and give him advice on how to attain ‘moksha’. He had made the diary entries, which were recovered by the police. The entries gave investigators an insight into his mind who might have been behind one of the most gruesome crime cases this year. Neighbours and relatives have described Lalit as a deeply religious man. There are also reports that confirm his liking for spiritual and mystical literature, apart from stating that he practised Reiki.