INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Did the 11 people found dead in a Burari house on Sunday commit suicide Or were they murdered as alleged by some of their relativesFrom
newspaper and media reports as well as police briefings, it appears to be a case of cult suicide though investigation is still at a very
The surviving family members are not willing to accept that this is a case of ritual suicide and are saying that they were murdered
But no one has so far come out so far with a plausible explanation as to why it could be a murder
There were no signs of violence at the scene of crime and nothing valuable was taken or touched
The main door of the house was open but there are no signs of forced entry.On Sunday, 77-year-old Narayan Devi, her children and
grandchildren were found dead in their homeIt is physically impossible to hang 11 persons forcibly without any signs of violence and
The only time such hangings have taken place is in mob lynchings and that too in America in the 19th century.So until we find strong
evidence to the contrary, it appears to be a case of mass suicide.But there are some unexplained factors even in this theory
There was no suicide note
The family appeared to be living normal lives
There were apparently no financial problems
They had just two weeks ago celebrated the engagement of one of the grand-daughters of the family (among those found hanging)
first blindfolding, tying hands and legs, organizing ropes, dupattas, and stools, when they could all poisoned themselves, if the intent was
suicideThe clues lie in the diaries, handwritten notes found in registers at the crime scene which talk about how to attain salvation
They also detail the procedure to be followed which is almost the same as was executed
For example, the notes say that the persons should be blindfolded, hands and legs are to be tied, mouths covered with a cloth
The occurrence should take place between 12 and 1 and either on Thursday or Sunday.The members were found hanging from a mesh in their
ceiling in the hallway, all close together.This is almost identical to the procedure followed
It is not clear who was maintaining these diaries
He apparently claimed he was in touch with the spirit of his father Bhopal Singh who had died in 2008
These were instructions given to him by his deceased father which he was recording and executing and that if the family followed the rituals
as detailed, they would attain salvation
The father would rescue them so that they would not die but attain something "great".Lalit Bhatia appears to be the driving force behind
this whole tragedy and was apparently convinced and able to convince other members of the family that they were to follow the instructions
of his dead father as relayed through him.From all accounts available and the conduct of the family, it appears that suicide was not the
had started talking about "visits" from his dead fatherEarlier incidents of mass suicide always involved a strong cult leader who claimed to
be a prophet and completely isolated his followers from society and then convinced them to willingly commit suicide en masse.The most famous
case was that of Jim Jones, an American religious cult leader who was founder of the Peoples Temple
He moved Peoples Temple and its followers to Guyana
When a delegation led by Congressman Leo Ryan went to Guyana to investigate alleged human rights abuse by Jones and his followers in his
commune in Guyana, they were gunned down
Immediately after this incident, Jones and his followers committed mass suicide by consuming a drink laced with cyanide
A total of 918 persons died.In another bizarre incident, 39 members of a group called Heaven's Gate led by Marshall Applewhite committed
They committed suicide by taking poison mixed with apple juice and vodka and expected that their souls would board Comet Hale-Bopp and
thereby escape from earth.These two examples show the strong influence of cult leaders on their followers and that if kept in a confined
this very tragic and horrific crime.AP Singh was the Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from 2010 to 2012.Disclaimer: The
opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author
The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of TheIndianSubcontinent and TheIndianSubcontinent does not assume
any responsibility or liability for the same.
