NEW DELHI:
Doctors are still unsure about the death of 75-year-old
Narayani Devi, the eldest family member of the house in Sant Nagar,
Burari where 11 people committed suicide on June 1, as to whether it was homicidal or suicidal. Initially, her death was seen as a result of “partial hanging” as she was found lying face down on the floor.
While the
autopsy report of 10 of the family members was submitted to police on Wednesday, Devi’s report is awaited. The report on the 10 family members confirms the initial opinion of the medical board suggesting “ante mortem hanging” as the cause of death.
Devi was found with a cloth around her neck, while a belt was hanging from the almirah handle. Police are probing the possibility of “assisted suicide”, which can be treated as homicide. This theory is strengthened with the fact that Devi was suffering from arthritis and could barely lift her hand.
“Tying a noose and hanging herself from a low height seems a difficult job for an old person like her. It is possible that a family member put the noose around her neck and used the belt to tighten it while she sat on the floor,” said an investigator.
The autopsy report of Lalit’s elder brother, Bhavnesh, and niece, Priyanka, has revealed that there were injury marks on their hands, perhaps caused by scratching a room cooler while trying to free themselves from the noose.
Some of the family members also had minor bruises after hitting their feet against the stools or against each other while being hanged. The report says that all the injuries were ante mortem and didn’t cause death.
Other family members may have tried to loosen the cloth tied on their hands as nine of them have ligature marks on their wrists. The doctors also found undigested rotis in their stomach consumed between 10-10.30pm. The injuries on their neck show internal haemorrhage.
While the autopsy report of 10 of the family members was submitted to police on Wednesday, Devi’s report is awaited
