Thread by @TheDilliMirror

He pushed a few people crowding the narrow lane and took the steps leading to a house, the scene of crime.
What he saw made his stomach churn . In his 17 years at Delhi police , he had never witnessed such scene .

Ten bodies were hanging and blindfolded, while another, the eldest family member Narayani Bhatia, 77, was found strangled in a separate room. The rest, including two 15-year-old boys, allegedly used chunnis with religious motifs and cables to hang themselves.

They were gagged and blindfolded, with hands tied. Cotton buds were found stuffed in their ears. The only one found alive in the house was the family dog, Jacky, who had been sent to the terrace.
Bhavnesh Singh (50); his brother, Lalit Singh (45); their wives, Savita (48)

and Tina (42) respectively; their children, Neetu (25), Monu alias Maneka (23), Dhruv alias Dushyant (15) and Shivam (15); their sister Pratibha alias Baby (48) and her daughter Priyanka (33) were found hanging in a circular formation;

Pratibha was hanging a little away from the group. The mother, 77-year-old Narayan Devi, was found dead on the floor in the adjacent room.
Prima facie , it looked like a clear case of murder . But the autopsy revealed no sign of struggle , including for the children

As the police started the investigation , they discovered handwritten diaries and notes that provided step by step instruction for the group on how to go through the act of hanging themselves . But it was not intended to be act of suicide .

It was intended to be act of salvation and they were supposed to come out of this alive and actually prosper once this act was over .
So what really happened ? There are many theories – from involvement of a baba to murder by relatives .

But below is what appears to be the closest truth . Narayan devi’s ( the eldest deceased ) late husband Bhopal Singh was patriarch of this family . He moved to Delhi from Haryana along with his wife and youngest son Lalit Singh . Slowly other family members moved with them .

Bhopal Singh was larger than life character and was called “daddy “ by all. His son Lalit Singh opened a shop of plywood at Burari . In 2004 an incident changed Lalit’s entire life . He was pushed under several sheet of plywood and set on fire .

Although he survived , he lost his voice ( this is important to note ).
In 2007 , his father, Bhopal Singh died of respiratory illness . The whole family was devastated, and a priest was called for Garuda Purana paath (a prayer) for 10 days after the death.

One of those 10 days , the family was doing pooja and suddenly Lalit spoke up ( he had lost his voice 3 years back ).
He said “ Daddy aa gaye “

This was the time when things started to change . Every night they would sit together and pray for 15-20 minutes .

The kids used to tell others in the neighbourhood that this was the time when “ Daddy ke aane ka time hai “ . During these kirtans , lalit would sit in the front . Over the years he had taken the role of Bhopal Singh in the family.

The first mention of Bhopal Singh in Lalit’s diaries is made on September 7, 2007, wherein the notes ask the family to keep his black and white photo in front of them and remember him. “Mann mein dhyan yahi rakho ki Daddy meri purani aadatein chhut jaye.

After that there were continuous instructions for the family members in the diary , in almost scolding tone . They dictated the daily routine of the members, including their eating habits and other mundane activities, for financial and general betterment of the family.

The notes appear to have a major bearing on the way all members of the family lived their lives.
Lalit told his family members that his father’s body possessed him and advised him on how all of them should be living their lives

The things actually started to improve in the family . From one shop they had now 3 shops .

This incident was part of what Lalit wrote in the diary
“ Badh Tapasya “ . Lalit wrote in the diary that he had received instructions from his father