The deceased have been identified as Rakesh Dodwa (27), his wife Lalita Dodwa (25), and their sons Prakash (7) and Akshay (5). The bodies of Rakesh, Lalita, and their two sons were found hanging from the ceiling, while their daughter Laxmi (9) was discovered lying on the floor.
“Prima facie, it seems to be a case of suicide,” an official said, according to PTI. Initial reports suggested all five family members were found hanging, but a villager later clarified that the girl’s body was on the floor. The discovery was made around 9:20 AM on Monday morning.
A team led by the Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) of Alirajpur has launched a thorough investigation into the incident. No suicide note was found at the scene. The incident is believed to have occurred between 7 PM on Sunday and 6 AM on Monday.
Rakesh Dodwa, a farmer, also worked as a mason in Gujarat. A dog squad and forensic team have collected fingerprints from the site, and a forensic team from Indore is expected to join the investigation. The post-mortem examinations are being videographed for further scrutiny.
2018 Burari Case
This incident bears an eerie resemblance to the 2018 Burari case in Delhi, where eleven members of a family were found dead under mysterious circumstances on July 1, 2018. Ten members were found hanging in the courtyard, blindfolded and with their mouths taped, while an elderly woman was found strangled in another room. Handwritten notes suggested the family believed in attaining salvation through certain rituals, leading to their deaths.
The Burari deaths were later attributed to shared delusion or psychosis, with family member Lalit Chundawat believed to have orchestrated the incident under the belief that his deceased father’s spirit had taken over his body to guide the family.
“The notes talk about how one can attain salvation and how the human body is temporary but the soul always continues to live on,” reported PTI, quoting an investigating officer.
