Burari horror: Occult practioner quizzed

New Delhi: The Delhi police on Friday detained a woman, an alleged occult practitioner, after accessing the call record details of the family found dead in Burari. Called Geeta Maa, the crime branch, probing the deaths, is now investigating the links she had with the deceased family.

The police took her into custody after her connection with one of the family members emerged from the call record details. It has been established that Lalit last spoke to the contractor, who built the house where the family lived.

After police questioned Geeta Maa, Lalit spoke to her when he called the contractor. She is the daughter of the contractor.

In a video, some men can be seen to seek help from the alleged occult practitioner and asking her questions about the Burari deaths. She can be heard answering that she was supposed to meet the family on Saturday. Geeta Maa is also heard saying that the Burari family had been “possessed by evil spirits”.

“Based on the video evidence, we detained and interrogated her. However she was later released as her role was not established. It’s unclear whether she has been charged and what the next course of action will be,” the police said.

Meanwhile, the police claimed two children, Dhruv (15) and Shivam (15), among those found dead, had protested before the alleged mass suicide. The duo’ hands was tied forcefully, evident by the injury marks on their hands, police sources said.

“We are probing whether Lalit, who claimed he was possessed by his father’s spirit, acted so under someone’s influence. “It is being probed whether Lalit ws influenced by someone close to him or whether he was suffering from a psychological disorder. The probe ahead will focus on ascertaining if there was any outside role,” a senior police officer said.

Relatives opened up about Lalit’s behaviour. His wife Tina had told her sisters and some other relatives that Lalit is sometimes possessed by his father’s spirit.

“However, they claimed they had never seen him behave in a weird manner. The relatives said his behaviour never harmed the family. Instead, the family prospered during the past 11 years. The police said most notes in the registers were in the handwriting of Priyanka. The notes say that (what they were about to do) would make God happy.