In 2018, a horrific discovery was made in Burari, India. 11 members of the same family were all found dead, 10 of which having been found hanged.
The Burari Deaths is the name given to this horrible event. A few years on, and questions still remain over what truly happened to the family.
From a mental health perspective, many have attributed the actions to Shared Psychotic Disorder – a rare condition that can have terrible effects – like seen in this case.
Chundawat Family
The Chundawat family were a well-known family in the local area. They ran a local grocery store, which served those in the village of Burari – which is found on the outskirts of New Delhi.
The family was made up of three generations. Narayani Devi was the eldest member – having been 80 at the time of her death. Her husband and was Bhopal Singh, who had passed away in 2006.
They had two sons – Bhuvnesh, who was 50, and Lalit, who was 45. They were married to Savita, aged 48, and Tina, aged 42, respectively. They had one daughter – a 57 year old woman named Pratibha.
There were five grandchildren who were aged between 33 and 15. They were Priyanka (33), Nitu (25), Monu (23), Dhruv (15), and Shivam (15).
Build-up to the deaths
The 2006 passing of Bhopal was felt heavily by the family, especially by his youngest son Lalit. Lalit is said to have become a different person following his father’s death.
Lalit said to his family members that he was possessed by his father’s soul. He kept a diary which provided a list of the instructions supposedly given to him by Bhopal.
From a mental health perspective, it looked as if Lalit was displaying signs of Psychosis – namely delusions and potentially hallucinations.
This went on for several years. Lalit passed the instructions given to him by Bhopal to his family – who all followed his words.
Discovery of bodies
On the morning of 1st July 2018, the grocery store didn’t open at 6am as it always had done previously.
This caused suspicion. A neighbour gained entry to the store, and found the bodies of 11 people. The emergency services were called, but all had been dead for several hours.
10 of the 11 family members were found hanging. There were five stools by the bodies, meaning that two family members stood on each stool, before moving off.
All had been blindfolded with cloth, their mouths were also taped, and their hands were tied behind their backs.
The finding led to both national and international news interest. The case continues to confuse many people.
Was it a case of Shared Psychotic Disorder?
The investigators believed that a mass suicide had taken place. Any involvement from a third party was dismissed following autopsies showing no signs of struggle.
When the discovery of the diary was made, it led to investigators believing that Lalit had been suffering from delusions.
The entries in the diary suggested that Lalit believed that his father’s soul had entered his body. Lalit apparently believed that through his instructions – Bhopal was trying to guide his family to salvation.
The diaries detailed how the 11 family members were due to die. This suggested that the family were all prepared for their deaths.
In terms of the one member that wasn’t found hanged, the diaries suggested that “the elderly woman can’t stand so she can lie down in another room”.
However, it tragically seemed as if the family members believed that they weren’t truly going to die, and that instead they were heading for salvation. One diary entry stated “one will not die”, but instead attain something “great”, whilst saying “the human body is temporary”.
The overall belief was that Bhopal would lead them to salvation. Lalit was believed to be suffering from delusions, and seemingly convinced his family that Bhopal was indeed leading them to salvation.
Most believe the case to be an example of Shared Psychotic Disorder. This involves an individual imposing a delusional belief onto others.
Summary
The Burari deaths were tragic. 11 people died, with three generations being wiped out. Of course, there is always a chance that Lalit was correct, and that the group were being led to salvation.
If this is indeed a case of Shared Psychotic Disorder, then it underlines the potential damage that it can cause, and the disastrous consequences of the condition.
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