The Mass suicide of a family with a dark secret — The Burari Family

The Mass suicide of a family with a dark secret — The Burari Family

Eleven members of the Chundawat family were found hanging from the iron grill on their ceiling. What happened to the normal and happy family? 

Burari family members. Source

On July 1st, 2018, Gurcharan Singh, Kuldeep Singh, and Pritpal Kaur, the neighbours of the Chundawat family, saw that they hadn’t opened their grocery shop, which would usually be opened in the early morning at around 5:30 am. They hadn’t picked up the milk cartons from outside their door. With several calls from the neighbours and no reaction from the family, they went to their apartment. They saw that the door was left unlocked from inside. When they pushed open the door what they saw was the horrifying sight. Ten bodies were hanging from the iron grill on their ceiling, using clothes, and the body of the grandmother was found lying on the floor in the room. The bodies were hanging in a circular formation. The family members were blindfolded, hands and feet bound, mouths taped shut, while they had hanged themselves. The family’s dog, the only member alive, was tied on the roof and was said to be barking continuously.

The Burari Family

Family tree of the Bhatia family

The Chundawat family, also known as the Bhatia family, moved from Haryana to Delhi about twenty years ago and lived in a three-storey house. They ran a grocery shop and a plywood business. Three generations of the family lived in the same house. The family members were:

Narayani Devi (80), mother of Bhuvnesh, Lalit and Pratibha

Pratibha Bhatia (57), widowed daughter of Narayani Devi

Bhuvnesh (50, also spelled as Bhavnesh), elder son of Narayani Devi

Lalit (45), younger son of Narayani Devi

Savita (48), elder daughter-in-law of Narayani Devi, wife of Bhuvnesh

Tina (42, also spelled as Teena), younger daughter-in-law of Narayani Devi, wife of Lalit

Priyanka (33), only daughter of Pratibha

Nitu (25, also spelled as Neetu), elder daughter of Bhuvnesh

Monu (called “Menaka”) (23), younger daughter of Bhuvnesh

Dhruv (called “Dushyant”) (15), only son and youngest child of Bhuvnesh

Shivam (15), son and only child of Lalit.

Everyone in the group was a well-read, socially adept individual. A family of eleven lived in that residence in Burari, Delhi. The matriarch, Narayani Devi, was a widow who had raised three sons and two daughters, two of whom had lived in the house with her at one point. Lalit was the youngest son and Bhuvnesh the older. Both were wed, one to Tina and the other to Savita. Lalit and Tina were raising only Shivam, their lone kid, while Bhuvnesh and Savita had two daughters and one boy (Maneka, Neetu, and Dhruv). Narayani Devi’s daughter Pratibha was the mother of her only daughter Priyanka.

The younger son Lalit had a plywood company, and the family operated a grocery store as well. According to neighbours, the family was doing reasonably well in both of their enterprises. Allegedly devout, the eleven-person family was described by neighbours, relatives, and coworkers as kind, generous, and peaceful individuals who never got into arguments with one other or the other people in the neighbourhood. While the family’s children were well-educated, polite, and intellectual, the other members were always willing to lend a hand to friends and family in need. When questioned about her family, Sujata Nagpal, the surviving sister and oldest brother Dinesh, accepted the views of their neighbours.

Not a single family member was ready to acknowledge that the eleven members of the daily had attempted mass suicide. This was mostly because the family had celebrated Priyanka’s engagement, one of their daughters, with a lavish party precisely 14 days before the incident.

The Investigation

Once the neighbours saw the horrifying sight they immediately called the police. The police arrived at around 7:30 am. But before the police could arrive the people in the neighbourhood had immediately swarmed the place and had started taking videos of the crime scene and started circulating it on the media. Due to so many people gathered there the police had an issue in even reaching the crime scene. The moment the police arrived at the scene their biggest challenge was controlling the crowd that had gathered in front of the Bhatia family’s home. The police official to first reach the crime scene was Rajeev Tomar, Head Constable, Burari Police Station (2017–2020) and also the family’s former neighbour.

Having observed the aforementioned events, Tomar believed that the mass suicide formation represented a banyan tree. Manoj Kumar, the Station House Officer (SHO) of the Burari Police Station from 2016 to 2019, asserted that he had never seen something like this in his entire career when he and his colleagues arrived at the crime location. The police officers were left with more questions than answers after witnessing a lack of circumstantial evidence supporting the alleged mass killing, no burglary sign because the women were wearing all of their ornaments, no signs indicating that the incident was a suicide because the members were blindfolded, and no suicide note.

After receiving news of the terrifying incident, the Forensic Science Laboratory, Delhi (FSL) sent a team of experts to Delhi. During the inquiry, the police authorities reviewed the footage from a CCTV camera that was installed in one of the house’s walls and faced the lane. The camera had been examined from the night before until the occurrence. This was done to make sure that there was no chance of an outsider entering and to make sure that nobody outside was involved in the occurrence. Despite their disagreement with the remaining family members, the police first filed a murder case in response to their accusation. Later the case was handed over to the crime branch. The officials were concerned about a few things:

With evident traces of struggle in his fingers, the older son Bhuvnesh had attempted to release his tied hands. The children in the house were brutally restrained by telephone cables, not just their hands but also by their feet. None of them showed any evidence of struggle. Their ears were packed full of cotton, and their mouths and eyes were taped. Narayani Devi, the family’s eldest, was discovered dead with her body partially turned in the adjacent room. She had some marks on the side of her neck from the belt around her neck. Everyone in the family had a scarf around their neck, which was used to hang themselves. There was also evidence of a ceremony that had been carried out the previous evening. There was a ceremonial pyre left over. It was evident from the ashes surrounding the pyre that it had been utilised the day before the tragedy. The CCTV footage from June 28, 2018, revealed that Lalit’s wife Tina and her son Shivam had purchased four stools. Furthermore, Tina was observed carrying some recently acquired tools with Neetu on June 30, 2018, around 9:40 p.m. Lalit’s son Shivam was observed taking a little bundle of wires upstairs and opening their plywood store at 10:29 p.m.

Eleven diaries, kept for a total of eleven years, were discovered by the police inside the home. “We have found handwritten notes detailing how hands and legs were tied and are quite similar to how the bodies of ten persons are found,” said Alok Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime). We are examining these comprehensive notes. The journals’ descriptions of the deceased’ taped mouths, cotton balls in their ears, and covered faces correspond with how the bodies were discovered. The diaries also mention that the bodies were found hanging in groups of three.

The old woman, Bebe, was discovered strangled on the bed, which was consistent with the diary’s statement that she was unable to stand and should thus be lying on the bed. The family did not anticipate death; as the diary also states, “everyone will tie their own hands and when the kriya (ritual) is done then everyone will help each other untie their hands.”

What led the family to this situation? Let’s rewind to the year 1988, the beginning of everything.

The Events Before The Suicide

In 1988, Lalit had his first bike accident because of which he was hospitalized for a prolonged period. It was revealed that due to the accident, Lalit had suffered head injuries. Friends have claimed that he used to fall asleep very early.

In 2004, Lalit, the youngest son of Narayani Devi, faced a major accident. He was set on fire by a rival. Even though the matter was resolved with a compromise, this incident left Lalit speechless. All the specialists who looked at the case of Lalit reported that his injuries were not significant enough to cause speechlessness or any issues in his throat. When specialists referred Lalit to a psychiatrist for Post-traumatic disorder (PTSD) treatment, the family didn’t take any steps.

Lalit started using a diary to communicate with the family. He would write down what he wanted to say and the family members would reply in return. As this turned into a habit for him, he also started to record his thoughts in the diary.

Three years later Bhopal Singh, husband of Narayani Devi, father of Lalit, passed away. He was the head of the family and the patriarch character in their family. His passing away was a major loss for the family, leaving them to fend for themselves. All the responsibilities feel on Lalit. While performing a ritual for the departed soul of Bhopal Singh, Lalit suddenly started chanting mantras, which shocked the entire family. This ‘miracle’ made the whole family believe in miracles. This incident might have been the turning point for the entire family.

After Lalit started talking, he narrated the story of how he got back his voice. He told the family that his father visited him in his dreams and he was the reason he got back his voice. He also told the family that a lot of good things would happen if they followed everything their father said. And the family believed him not knowing this would lead to their unfortunate death.

The family, gullible and naive, took Lalit at his word and began complying with his demands. The Chundawat brothers soon began to see success in their individual businesses. Both the house and the stores they owned flourished. The Chundawat family had a perfectly normal existence outside the house, but they were subject to rigid regulations, prayers, and even customs that were never to be questioned. Everything that took place within the house stayed inside. Soon it became a house of secrets. None of their neighbours had ever paid them a visit in over a decade of living there.

Lalit began recording the instructions that he allegedly got from his deceased father in his dreams in a diary, which the entire family eventually read. It resembled a stone carving. It was unchangeable. It was unquestionable. It was unavoidable. Any instructions found in the diary were simply to be followed. Occasionally, the journal would suggest that they cut back on their use of cell phones and disconnect from others. And occasionally, in an odd way, the diary would ask them to pray more than once a day.

Not only this, the diary also described in great detail, the punishments that one would suffer if they did not obey the supreme command (of whatever was written in the diary).

Real image of the family at crime scene

A few days prior to D-Day, a diary entry described in great detail a ritual that would prevent the end of the world for the whole family. Lalit, who at the time was the head of the family, would then tie their hands behind their backs. Narayani Devi was an elderly lady, thus it was acceptable to bind her in a different room rather than forcing her to stand on the stools. Lalit would bind himself the same way as the rest of the family, with the exception that he wouldn’t tie his hands behind his back. Though he had told the family it was a ritual and everyone would be saved, unfortunately, the whole family died, while hoping to be saved.

The last journal entry, dated June 24, 2018, described a seven-day ritual known as the “Banyan Tree Ritual” that was to be performed in conjunction with the Badh Puja. The roots of the badh tree originally dangle from its branches. The incident was reported in the diary to have occurred about one in the morning.

Regarding the Badh Puja, instructions were given to perform it assiduously for seven days. If someone happened to visit the family during that time, the puja had to be held the next day.

It was instructed that nothing pertaining to the puja should be revealed to any visitors from the outside of the house.

During the puja, one should use dim lighting and close their eyes completely.

The eyes should be securely blindfolded, the lips should be taped shut with a handkerchief, and the mind should be clear and concentrated. Because Narayani Devi was the oldest and most obese member, she was instructed to do the ceremony just by lying down.

It was instructed that during executing the puja, the one performing it should visualize the tree’s branches encircling their body. As a result, the rite should be carried out with resolve and togetherness, which will aid in making amends for mistakes.

What led Lalit to act this way? Expert opinions

Psychologists would say that unaddressed trauma in an individual would lead to a state of psychosis — the incapacity of the mind to process information rationally — develops. Hearing voices is one of the direct effects of psychosis. Lalit had recovered his voice a year after his father’s passing.

Following the conclusion of the ground investigation, the criminal branch decided to conduct a psychological autopsy, in which a team of psychologists and scientists examined the deceased person’s mind to determine what transpired. It was an instance of shared psychosis as Lalit was the one experiencing it and was gradually passing it along to his family. This was the reason the family members had begun to take Lalit at his word. It was found that the family’s suicide was not premeditated; rather, it was a result of unforeseen circumstances.

Shared psychosis is a rare disorder characterized by sharing a delusion among two or more people in a close relationship. The inducer (primary) who has a psychotic disorder with delusions influences another nonpsychotic individual or more (induced, secondary) based on a delusional belief.



The sidewall of the Burari family house

Police found 11 pipes, seven facing down and four facing up (maybe indicating seven females and four males) protruding from the side wall of the house. When investigated the plumber told it was for light and vent. But the experts and conspiracy theorists say that these 11 pipes might have been a part of the ritual, an escape route for the souls of the 11 family members. The pipes were placed in a similar way to the position of the family members while hanging.

11 grills were present in the main entrance door of the house and 11 rods in the railing of the terrace. Along with the same the house had exactly 11 windows and vents. The idea behind the same was that the number 11 had significance and deep relevance to the Burari incident.



This case was developed as a Netflix Documentary, “House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths” on October 8, 2021.

Importance of Mental Health

This case has highlighted the importance of mental health and also the stigma surrounding it. Accepting the fact that one is mentally ill is the first step towards eradicating the stigma surrounding mental health. And if you see someone suffering due to mental health lend them the required help.

If you or someone are suffering due to mental health issues, please use the below resources.

Hotlines

988 Mental Health Emergency Hotline: In July 2022, a universal mental health crisis line was launched nationwide. Calling 988 will connect you to a crisis counsellor regardless of where you are in the United States.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) HelpLine: 1–800–950-NAMI, or text “HELPLINE” to 62640. Both services available between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. ET, Monday–Friday

In October 2023 NAMI launched a Teen & Young Adult HelpLine, for nationwide peer support and resource referrals. Text “Friend” to 62640; chat at nami.org/talktous; call 800–950–6264. Available Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1–800–273-TALK (8255); www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org. Or, just dial 988

Crisis Text Line: Text REASON to 741741 (free, confidential and 24/7). In English and Spanish

Self-Harm Hotline: 1–800-DONT CUT (1–800–366–8288)

Samaritans. To talk about anything that is upsetting you, you can contact Samaritans 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can call 116 123 (free from any phone), email jo@samaritans.org or visit some branches in person.

SANEline. If you’re experiencing a mental health problem or supporting someone else, you can call SANEline on 0300 304 7000 (4.30pm–10pm every day).

Arpita Suicide Prevention Helpline: Helpline: 080–23655557; Time: 10:00 AM — 01:00 PM | 02:00 PM — 05:00 PM | Monday to Friday

Online resources

Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA)

Service offering: The Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) is a national organization that houses resources on anxiety, depression, and related disorders. They also have an extensive directory of mental health professionals. Price: Free/open to the public.

Headspace

Service offering: If you’re looking for some mindfulness meditation exercises, Headspace is a great place to start. This website offers free guided meditations and tips for improving your mental well-being.

Price: You can download Headspace for free, and the platform offers limited free tools.

BetterHelp

Service offering: BetterHelp is an online counselling service that offers therapy from licensed counsellors. You can communicate with your counsellor via text, audio, or video chat.

Price: Online counselling at BetterHelp ranges from $60 to $90 per week (billed every four weeks). The exact price is based on location, preferences, and therapist availability.