Family 'suicide pact': All 4 girls were graduates, father a Lord Hanuman devotee

New Delhi: Heera Lal Sharma and his four daughters, aged between 20 and 26 years, who died in a suspected suicide pact in their rented home in a village in Vasant Kunj, had turned recluse after the death of his wife in August last year, and the family appeared to be struggling with emotional and financial stress, according to investigators.

The bodies of Sharma, (46) who worked as a carpenter at the Indian Spinal Injury Centre in Vasant Kunj for the last 28 years but had stopped working since January, and his four daughters -- Neetu (26), Nikki (24), Neeru (23) and Nidhi (20) -- were found on Friday afternoon, but they had died days earlier.

According to their acquaintances, the family was very religious and they would perform prayers every day.The father was a devotee of Lord Hanuman and would fast every Tuesday.

A CCTV footage from Tuesday evening, September 24, has surfaced in which Sharma can be seen going inside the building, where his house is on the third floor. He was also carrying a packet of sweets with him. The police suspect that Sharma and his daughters had consumed the poisonous substance and the sweets on the same day.

Prima facie the police suspect it to be a case of suicide but no note has been found from the house as of now.

"We are looking into all angles," a police official said when asked if they suspect any occultist ritual led to the suicide pact.

No evidence of any foul play has been found so far, the police said, adding the bodies did not have any injury mark.

The bodies of the four women were found lying on the bed in one room while their father was found dead in another room. The police found three packets of celphos poison, five glasses and a spoon containing a suspicious liquid from the house.

Gudiya Sharma, the sister-in-law of Heera Lal Sharma, told PTI that the four daughters were very sweet-natured and good at studies.

"All four were graduates, one in home science, another in commerce and two others had graduated in arts. I still don't believe that they are no more," she said.

Neeru had lost her eyesight in 2016 due to some medical reasons and had become totally dependent on her father. "I actually don't know why Heera Lal stopped going to work but Neeru would often request him not to go," she said.

"He was a devotee of Lord Hanuman and was very religious. The family would never use garlic and onion in the food," Gudiya said.

Since the death of Sharma's wife Kanta Devi, the family had cut off any communication, she said.

"They were under stress and his daughters had also stopped taking our calls. We saw Heera Lal two weeks ago at a vegetable market. We tried to talk to him but he ignored us," she said.

Gudiya lives with her husband, who is also physically challenged, and three children, around two kilometres away from the locality in Rangpuri village. She works in a nearby hotel.

"There is a television in the house but none of the daughters had any interest in watching television. They had one mobile phone which was used by all four daughters," she said.

"I also don't know why bhaiya did not want his daughters to go out and work. We don't know about their earnings, but Heera Lal would try to fulfil all the demands of his daughter," she said.

The police said that they were checking the financial status and bank accounts of Sharma and had seized two mobile phones from the house.

Amarjeet Singh, a neighbour, said Sharma hardly spoke to anyone.

"Many people here did not even know that he had four daughters. His youngest daughter would at times be seen outside the house, but his other daughters hardly stepped out of the house," Singh said.

Sharma was often seen washing his daughters clothes and doing other household work, he added.

Inquest proceedings under section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) have been initiated and a medical board has been formed for the post-mortem examinations to be conducted on Monday, the police said.