One of 11 family members found dead in Delhi was to get married in Nov

Thirty three-year-old Priyanka, one of the 11 members of a family found dead under mysterious circumstances in north Delhi's Burari today, had recently got engaged and was supposed to get married in November.

Locals were in a state of shock after the bodies of 11 members of the Bhatia family were found at their residence.

Amrik Singh, whose father was one of the first persons to find the bodies, said the family was preparing for the wedding of Priyanka and seemed quite happy.

"It is hard to believe something like this has happened. We attended Priyanka's engagement on June 17. The wedding was supposed to take place in November. The house was also being renovated," he added.

 

Priyanka's cousin Ketan Nagpal recalled that she was discussing the preparations for her wedding last night.

"She was talking about shopping for her wedding around 11 pm. She did not sound depressed or that she was about to kill herself. We were all looking forward to her wedding but now everything is over," he said, adding that Priyanka was supposed to get married in a Noida-based family.

Priyanka was an employee of an IT firm in Noida

Among the deceased were Priyanka's maternal grandmother Narayan Devi (77), mother Pratibha (57) uncles Bhavnesh (50) and Lalit Bhatia (45).

Bhavnesh's wife Savita (48) and their three children -- Neetu (25), Meenu (23) and Dhruv (15) -- were also found dead, the police said, adding that Lalit's wife Tina (42) and their 15-year-old son Shivam were also among the dead.

While 10 bodies were found hanging, the body of Narayan Devi was found lying on the floor in a separate room.

The eyes and mouths of those found hanging were covered with cloth and tape, the hands and feet of the two minor boys were found tied, the police said.

During a search of the house, the police found handwritten notes, pointing towards the "observance of some religious practice by the family".

The notes had a "similarity with the manner in which the eyes and mouths of the deceased were found taped and tied", the police said.