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Mystery over Delhi family’s deaths deepens as new CCTV video emerges
A family of five was found dead in Delhi, prompting police to investigate potential suicide or murder-suicide.
A family of five found dead at their home in southwest Delhi has sent shockwaves across the national capital, as the police suspect that either all of them committed suicide, or the father killed his 4 daughters before dying by suicide.
A CCTV footage, showing the 46-year-old man purportedly carrying sweets days before he and his four daughters were found dead, has now gone viral on social media. The video shows the man innocuously walking with a large bag around 7 pm, which police believe is a box of sweets.
The date on the footage is September 24, the same date neighbours claim they last saw the family. After preliminary investigation, cops believe that it is likely that the man bought the sweets, and then laced them with poison.
The incident came to light after neighbors reported a foul smell from the third-floor flat. Police found the door bolted from the inside and recovered a box of sweets, pesticide, and a suspicious liquid. Preliminary medical exams showed no external injuries.
“The father was found lying on a cot in the first room. There was blood near his mouth,” a police official said.
“The family alleged there was a financial strain on the father. We don’t know if this led to the deaths. We are also trying to ascertain the sequence of events. Since the father was last seen with a sweets box, we think they ate sweets laced with the poison and also had juice which was spiked with the same,” he added.
Also read: 46-year-old, 4 daughters found dead in Delhi home
Neighbors described the family as aloof, with the daughters having medical issues. They said the family mostly kept to itself and the man's wife died of cancer in August. The father, a former carpenter, had stopped working in January. The daughters were aged 26, 24, 23 and 20. Police said one of them was visually impaired.
Police are analysing phone records and bank accounts to determine the sequence of events and potential motives.
"We have sent everything to the forensic lab and are exploring the case from all angles. We don’t know if it was a suicide pact or a murder-suicide," another cop who is part of the investigation team said.
The case bears an uncanny similarity to a 2018 case, where 11 members of a family were found dead at their home in Delhi’s Burari. Despite years of investigation, there is no clear explanation yet for their mysterious deaths.
(With inputs from Jignasa Sinha)
Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. A few major suicide prevention helpline numbers in India are 011-23389090 from Sumaitri (Delhi-based) and 044-24640050 from Sneha Foundation (Chennai-based).
