11 pipes in Burari house deepen mystery; contractor says family installed them for 'air'

When the contractor, who constructed the house, was asked about the pipes, he said the family installed them for air.

Eleven pipes were seen coming out of the house. As per reports, these pipes may indicate towards the observance of some spiritual or mystical practices by the whole family.

NEW DELHI: As the police investigate the death of eleven members of a family in Delhi's Burari, surprising details have emerged in the incident, deepening the mystery further. After eleven pipes protruding from one of the walls of the house were spotted, the police are trying to establish if the 'unusual' placement of piped has any connection with the deaths. When the contractor, who constructed the house, was asked about the pipes, he said the family installed them for air. "Lalit Bhatia had consulted the entire family before asking us to place these pipes. He said air would come through them," Kamarpal told ABP News. When the contractor asked for a window to be replaced with the pipes, Lalit rejected his suggestion saying he will think about the window later. Construction at the house was going one for past three months, he said. The manner in which the pipes were placed has raised several questions. Of the 11 pipes, seven are tilted down and four facing straight. And to the surprise, among the deceased, seven were women and four were men. The positioning of pipes also coincides with the pattern and placement of the dead bodies. The placement of the pipes are so high on the wall and do not appear as if they were fixed for flushing out water. Meanwhile, the autopsy report of eight of the 11 people has revealed there were no signs of struggle and all of them died as a result of hanging. Police suspect that the deaths were part of a suicide pact, carried out in accordance with a religious practice, as handwritten notes found on the spot indicated. Some of the notes stated that "one will not die" but attain something "great". The deceased found hanging were Narayan Devi's two sons Bhavnesh Bhatia, 50, and Lalit Bhatia, 45, and two daughters Pratibha, 57, and Priyanka, 33, who got engaged last month. Bhavnesh's wife Savita, 48, and their three children Nitu, 25, Monu, 23, and Dhruv, 15, were also found dead along with Lalit's wife Tina, 42, and their son Shivam, 15. The Bhatias ran a grocery store and a plywood outlet in the neighbourhood.