New Delhi: Three people from Kerala, a married couple and a friend, were found dead in a hotel room in Arunachal Pradesh's Ziro on Tuesday, under mysterious circumstances, news agency PTI reported.
Police in Arunachal Pradesh's Lower Subansiri district were alerted to the situation when the three bodies were discovered in a room at Hotel Blue Pine in Hapoli. The victims, seemingly succumbing due to excessive bleeding from cuts on their wrists, were found with a note also discovered at the spot.
The deceased were identified as Arya, hailing from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, and the couple Naveen and Devi from Kottayam. Naveen was engaged in online trading, while Devi taught German language instruction at a private institution, and Arya served as a French educator in the same school.
READ | Arunachal Pradesh: 3 From Kerala Found Dead, State Police To Send Team
The trio had checked into the hotel on March 28, occupying a shared room throughout their stay. Hotel staff observed their presence on the premises until March 31. However, their absence the following day prompted concern, as stated by Keni Bagra, Superintendent of Police for Lower Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh, PTI reported.
As police arrived in their hotel room, numbered 305, they discovered the bodies. Arya was found lying on the bed, while Devi on the floor, and Naveen Thomas in the bathroom, all having cut wounds in their wrists, a report by Firstpost stated.
“On Tuesday (2 April) morning, the staff tried to check on them. They first made a call to the room but there was no answer. Then they went to the room, but there was no response to knocks. When they banged on the door, the lock broke and they found them dead there, following which they called the local police station at around 10.30 am,” the SP told The Indian Express.
Police also found a suicide note in their hotel room which read, “We have no debts. We don’t have any problems. We go to the place where we should be.”
The matter was brought to the attention of the police following a missing person report filed by Arya's father.
Devi's father, Balan Madhavan, a travel photographer, attributed the incident to a belief in black magic, disclosing that the deceased had explored concepts of "life after death" online prior to the incident.
“They had fallen prey to black magic,” he said.
Monichan Kizhakkedam, president of Meenadom Panchayat in Kottayam, familiar with the family, said, "They had made these wounds as part of 'Punarjani' so that they could get another life," as reported by Mathrubhumi.
According to Naveen's neighbour, Iype, Naveen and Devi were affiliated with an organisation named 'Punarjani,' purportedly engaged in rituals associated with black magic, including Satan worship.
The couple, accompanied by Devi's friend, undertook the trip to Arunachal Pradesh with the support of Punarjani, he said.