Burari deaths: Probe points to suicide, relatives say family was ‘perfectly normal’

Relatives at Nigambodh Ghat, Monday. (Amit Mehra)

Three days after 11 members of a family were found dead under mysterious circumstances in their Burari residence, the grieving relatives, friends and neighbours of the family vehemently disagreed with the police investigation that points towards an alleged mass suicide.

“If there is no motive for murder, there is no motive for suicide either… on Saturday, the boys shopped for new shoes because school was about to start, the house was under construction, there was a wedding being planned. They were clearly looking at a joyous future ahead. Why would they suddenly kill themselves?” said close relative, Ketan Nagpal (29).

An agitated Sujata, daughter of the matriarch Narayani Devi, who came to Delhi from Panipat, said, “I refuse to believe this version. My brothers were perfectly normal, so was the family.” According to her son Ketan, she had spoken to Devi and her sister Pratibha at 8:30 pm on Saturday and “all seemed well”.

“My father was admitted to the hospital. Naani asked us to come to Delhi and get him treated… does it sound like they were going to kill themselves? We are waiting for the investigation to be completed,” he said. Ketan added that Priyanka, who got engaged on June 17, had exchanged WhatsApp messages with a cousin after 11 pm on the fateful night, and that Teena had also spoken to her sister and brother-in-law that night.

A neighbour said, “No one is allowing the family to grieve. Lalit was reserved and the children were very obedient… they were an ideal family.”