11 bodies, 10 of them hanging, found at New Delhi home

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11 bodies, 10 of them hanging, found at New Delhi home

2018-07-02 13:27 Last Updated At：13:27

Police in India's capital said they found 11 bodies at a home under mysterious circumstances on Sunday, including 10 that were blindfolded and hanging.

The victims were all from the same family and most had lived in the home where they were found in Burari village in the northern part of New Delhi, said police officer Vineet Kumar.

During a search of the house, handwritten notes were found that point "toward observance of some definite spiritual or mystical practices by the whole family," police said in a statement.

"Coincidentally, these notes have strong similarity with the manner in which the mouths, eyes etc of the deceased were tied and taped," the statement said. It didn't elaborate.

Kumar said police began their investigation after they received a call Sunday morning that some "members of a family have committed suicide."

But he said that no suicide note was found, and that police were investigating whether the victims — a 77-year-old woman, her two sons and their wives, a daughter and five grandchildren — died by suicide or were killed.

There were no bullet marks on the victims' bodies and there was no sign of forced entry into the house, Kumar said. "We're yet to reach any conclusion whatsoever," he said.

Police said in their statement later Sunday that a murder case had been registered, though a police official said both murder and suicide were being investigated.

The statement said that the house had not been ransacked, and that no valuables were found to be missing.

Ten bodies, blindfolded by cotton and pieces of cloth, were found hanging from an iron grill used as a ventilator in the home's courtyard, while the body of the 77-year-old woman was lying on the floor of the house, said the police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

The family had lived in the house for more than two decades, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported. It said the house belongs to a businessman who ran a plywood shop and dairy.

The newspaper said that at around 8 a.m. Sunday, a neighbor with whom the businessman used to go for morning walks went to see him and found the door of the house open and the 10 people, including the businessman, hanging. He raised an alarm and people called the police.

Arjun Thukral, a relative of the family who lives in the same neighborhood, said he ran to the victims' house as news of the deaths spread.

"I saw the bodies hanging, stools lying around, and my wife's aunt sprawled on the floor by the bed. I couldn't bear watching anymore," he said.

Thukral questioned whether the family had died by suicide.

"No father can kill his own son. ... How would a mother be able to kill her own children? I don't think they committed suicide. These are murders," he said.

New Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who visited the scene, called the incident "tragic."

"Police are investigating. ... Let's wait for their investigation to be over," he said.

In a video posted on Twitter by Kejriwal's ruling party, the neighbors are heard telling Kejriwal that the family was busy with wedding preparations.

A neighbor of the family said they couldn't have died by suicide, New Delhi Television reported. The neighbor said he spoke to one of the victims Saturday night and found no sign of any stress, the report said.

Indian TV channels broadcast interviews with neighbors who said the family did not have any discord among themselves.

Police official Rajesh Khurana told reporters that all angles were being investigated. "We can't rule out anything," he said.

Protest erupts in India's capital city over lynching of Hindu man in Bangladesh

NEW DELHI (AP) — A protest erupted in India’s capital Tuesday in response to the death of a Hindu man who was lynched and burned by an angry mob in neighboring Bangladesh, a new sign of strain in relations between the neighboring countries.

The protest in New Delhi, mainly led by Hindu nationalist organization Vishva Hindu Parishad, highlights the fragility in the relationship between India and Bangladesh, which often is held up as a rare example of stability in South Asia.

Bangladeshi student leader Sharif Osman Hadi died in a hospital in Singapore on Thursday after being shot on Dec. 12 in Dhaka. Police in Bangladesh said they identified suspects and the shooter likely had fled to India.

Hadi’s death triggered widespread violence in Dhaka. The offices of two national daily newspapers were torched and Indian diplomatic missions were targeted. A Hindu man also was burned alive, which sparked the protest Tuesday in India.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Tuesday near the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, shouting slogans and accusing Bangladeshi groups of wrongly targeting minorities. They carried placards and banners with slogans including “India will not tolerate torture of Hindus in Bangladesh” and “Our silence should not be mistaken as weakness, we are lions.”

Authorities erected barricades and imposed tight security around the diplomatic enclave that included police and armored vehicles. Security personnel used batons to hold back some protesters who broke through barricades in an apparent attempt to enter the embassy.

One of the Indian protestors, Rajkumar Jindal, threatened “dire consequences” if authorities in Bangladesh failed to stop violence against Hindus.

“People who are committing atrocities should stop doing that. We are here to awaken the people who are asleep,” Jindal said.

Hadi took part in a 2024 political uprising that ended the 15-year rule of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been in exile since fleeing Bangladesh on Aug. 5, 2024. He was a fierce critic of India and Hasina and planned to run as an independent candidate in a major constituency in Dhaka in the next national elections in February.

Hadi's death sparked a new diplomatic squabble with India and prompted New Delhi this week to summon Bangladesh’s envoy.

Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also summoned Pranay Verma, the Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh, to apprise him of the security situation at Bangladesh missions in New Delhi and state capitals Kolkata and Agartala, a leading Bengali-language newspaper reported Tuesday.

Tensions between India and Bangladesh increased again with the death on Thursday of Dipu Chandra Das, a 25-year-old Hindu man who was lynched and burned publicly following allegations of blasphemy in Mymensingh district’s Bhaluka subdistrict.

Das's killing contributed to a pattern of fear among the Hindu community in Bangladesh following the ouster of Hasina.

Religious minority groups including Hindus and Christians have accused Bangladesh's interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus of failing to protect the safety of Hindus and others. The Yunus administration has rejected the allegations.

Tuesday's protest could complicate cooperation on trade, border management and regional connectivity at a time when the region is already grappling with economic uncertainty and political polarization, said Sreeram Sundar Chaulia, an international affairs expert at New Delhi’s Jindal School of International Affairs.

“Opposing India and alleging Indian conspiracies of interference in Bangladesh are being done in order to harden a blatantly Islamist and non-inclusive path for the country,” Chaulia said.

The rupture is a setback to India’s broader regional strategy, while for Bangladesh the loss of India’s development assistance and markets could further dampen the country's slowing economy and push it further into dependence on China, Chaulia said.

Bangladesh and India have enjoyed a warm relationship since 2009 when Hasina came to power and until her ouster. Hasina was considered a friend by India and both countries thrived on bilateral cooperation. But Hasina’s opponents accused her administration of being subservient to India, a major trade and investment partner.

Alam reported from Dhaka.