New Delhi: Police in the Indian capital said Sunday they found 11 bodies in a village home in mysterious circumstances, 10 of them blindfolded and hanging from the roof.
The victims belonged to a family and most had lived in one home in Burari village in the northern part of the capital, said police officer Vineet Kumar. The bodies were sent for an autopsy.
Police were investigating whether they died by suicide or were killed, he said. No suicide note has been found, Kumar said.
Police said there were no bullet marks on the bodies of seven women and four men. There was no sign of forced entry into the house either, police said.
Ten bodies, blindfolded by cotton and pieces of cloth, were found hanging from an iron grill used as a ventilator in the courtyard while the body of a 70-year-old woman was lying on the floor of the house, police said.
Police said the victims included four men, three women and four girls.
The family had been living in the house for more than two decades, Hindustan Times newspaper reported. It said the house belongs to a businessman who ran a plywood shop and dairy.
The newspaper said that around 8am on Sunday, a neighbour 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.
Indian TV channels broadcast interviews with neighbours who said the family did not appear to be on bad terms with one another.
Police official Rajesh Khurana told reporters that all angles are being investigated.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the scene. In a video posted on Twitter by Kejriwal's ruling party, the neighbours are heard telling Kejriwal that the family was busy with wedding preparations.
Local residents of Sant Nagar, #Burari tells CM @ArvindKejriwal about the family, in whose house the tragic incident happened. pic.twitter.com/dEHNdKqJM5
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) July 1, 2018
A neighbour of the family said they couldn't have committed suicide, New Delhi Television reported. The neighbour said he spoke to one of the victims on 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.
