Sansani: Superstition and a dream to achieve immortality killed Burari's Bhatia family

Delhi Police has questioned over 20 relatives of the Burari-based family in connection with the mysterious deaths of its 11 members and is likely to rope in a psychiatrist to assist the investigators in the probe.
The police have ruled out the involvement of any self-styled godman so far.
There were rumours doing the rounds today that 11 rods on top of the gate had something to do with the case but police ruled it out.
Police have more or less ruled out the involvement of any self-styled godman in the case and are probing it as a case of "shared psychosis". A senior officer also spoke to doctors from VIMHANS yesterday who also opined that it was a case of "shared psychosis", in which one person's delusional beliefs are transmitted to others.
Ten of the 11 members of the Bhatia family were found hanging from an iron-mesh in the ceiling on Sunday, while the body of 77-year-old Narayan Devi, the head of the family, was lying on the floor in another room of the house.
Devi's daughter Pratibha (57), her two sons Bhavnesh (50) and Lalit Bhatia (45) were also among the deceased. Bhavnesh's wife Savita (48) and their three children - Meenu (23), Nidhi (25), and Dhruv, aged 15, too were found dead.
Lalit Bhatia's wife Tina (42) and their 15-year-old son Shivam were also among those found dead. Pratibha's daughter Priyanka (33), who was engaged last month and would have married by the end of this year, was also found hanging.