In a morbid incident, the Delhi Police on Saturday found three bodies in a flat in posh Vasant Vihar and suspect that it is a case of suicide.
What gave the incident a macabre touch was that a woman in her 50s and her two daughters had turned their south Delhi flat into a toxic chamber; they asphyxiated to death, possibly due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
The flat was locked from inside; when the police entered the house, they found all the doors and windows sealed. A foil like substance covered all windows, apparently to ensure no one could see within and to prevent smoke from escaping.
On checking the inner room three dead bodies were found lying on the bed with three small 'angithis' at their side. The cooking gas cylinder's knob was on and it is presumed that the ‘angithi’ fire must have helped in the build-up of poisonous carbon monoxide in the room, killing the three.
‘‘It is presumed that they died due to suffocation," the police said.
Suicide notes were recovered from the flat and revealed their sinister plan. In one of the suicide notes, there were clear instructions to anyone who enters the flat that they should not light a match, as that could ignite a fire.
"There is too much deadly gas...carbon monoxide…inside. It's flammable. Please ventilate the room by opening the window and start the fan. Do not light match, candle or anything!! Be careful while removing the curtain because room is full of hazardous gas. Do not inhale," the cautionary suicide note in English read.
The mother has been identified as Manju Srivastava (55); she and her daughters Anshika (30) and Anku (26) were in a state of depression since April 2021 due to the death of the house owner (their father), who had succumbed to Covid.
The incident brought back horrific memories of the Burari case in which 11 members of a family died by suicide in 2018. Ten people were found hanged, while the oldest family member, the grandmother, was strangled.
