11 Family Members Did Suicide For No Reason, But Why?
Burning curiosity over bizarre Burari Deaths
Traditionally, when introductions are made, the leading question is ‘who are they?’ Alas, in this case, that would be the least of anyone’s concerns. Here, the leading question will be ‘how and why did they die?’ Eleven seemingly normal functioning members of society were found to have committed suicide.
Simultaneously? Spontaneously? Surprisingly. Or, was it premeditative? We have been taught that sharing is caring, but not in this case. Since, according to some, this chain of events was even said to have been motivated by a shared delusion or psychosis.
Read on to quench some of the human mind’s thirst for answers. For, after all this case has no living witnesses. Whatever information has been gathered was collected through investigative police reports, medical examiner reports, and interviews with psychiatrists, psychologists, and various other experts in the field.
This case blew out of proportion and is the inspiring story behind various documentaries like the famous, ‘House of Secrets; The Burari Deaths’ on Netflix. Similarly, many true crime and murder mystery enthusiasts, along with various conspiracy theorists have tried their hand at unraveling this bizarre case.
The reason for their lack of success? There is no living witness in the case. Hence all we have access to are our speculations and deductions. This layer of ambiguity makes the Burari case even more morbidly fascinating.
The main players in the Burari case are the members of the Chundawat family, also known as the Bhatia family by their neighbors. They originated from Haryana. However, at the time of the suicides, had been living in Sant Nagar, in the Burari area of Delhi. They ran a local grocery store and even ran a family-owned plywood business in the area. The family consisted of eleven members. In 2007, the head of the family Bhopal Singh passed away from natural causes. He was survived by his wife Narayana Devi (aged 80) and three children; Bhuvnesh, Lalit, and Pratibha.
Of which, Bhuvnesh (50) was the elder son. He was married to Savita (48). He was the father of Nitu (25), Menaka (lovingly called ‘monu’) (23), and Dushyant (lovingly called ‘Dhruv’) (15). Meanwhile, Lalit (45) was the younger son. He was married to Tina (42) and had an only son, Shivam (15). Whereas, Pratibha Bhatia (57) was a widow and lived with them.
So far, the family seems normal and happy. Three generations of the single family coexist in harmony, living in relative financial stability as well.
Then, What changed? What caused things to go so horribly, terribly wrong?
An autopsy of fact files
It was one fateful July morning. On the 1st of July, to be precise when a neighbor of the Chundawat family, Gurcharan Singh woke up the whole neighborhood with his distress, and the police were alerted by 7:30 am as well. Mr. Singh had noticed that Lalit Chundawat was absent for the usual morning walk they took together.
It was even stranger that the Chandawat’s grocery store usually opened by 5:00 am was also closed. So, like any concerned neighbor, he decided to pay a visit to the Chandawat house. Alas, he was several hours too late. The door to the Chandawat family home was unlocked. The ten members of the family, including Lalit Chandawat, were found hanging in their courtyard.
The bodies were found blindfolded with their mouths folded. Some even had their hands and feet tied. Meanwhile, Narayana Devi’s apparently strangled body was found in another room.
The whole family’s faces were also covered with cloth that seemed to be from the same sheet. Five stools were also found at the scene. This discovery of the bodies was just one of the many extremely shocking facts of this case. Since the second most disturbing discovery was a diary.
Yes, an ominous diary was allegedly written by Lalit Chandawat. Evidenced further by writing analyses later. Every detail written in the diary was consistent with the crime scene. It was like the family was following the instructions the diary gave. Instructions that Lalit Chandawat wrote. But why?
Apparently, after the death of his father Bhopal Singh, Lalit Chandawat was noted to behave strangely. He grew introverted. Until one day, he told the family that his father’s spirit was communicating with him. Also, he had the family convinced that his father’s spirit had taken over him.
This made the family follow him blindly. Later, the investigators found evidence that Lalit had researched death and watched paranormal shows on YouTube. Meanwhile, it was also believed that Lalit and his wife were the ones who tied everyone’s hands and feet.
Hence, it is clear that Lalit called the shots in the family and that his word was the final say. Otherwise, how would a family that included educated young members as well believe in such utter nonsense? How had Lalit managed to become the pied piper the family blindly followed?
The Insanely Sickening Reason for the mass suicides
Lalit had a troubled past. He was once locked in a burning room from where he surprisingly escaped. However, he seemed to have lost his voice due to the trauma. That could be when the madness began because, at this time, he started maintaining the diaries.
He wrote the hymns the family should chant to restore his voice. Miraculously, during the chant, his voice was restored. This established to the family that the instructions in the diary were all credible and that it was really their father’s spirit guiding them. Moreover, all entries were written in a third-person narrative. Exactly like the instructions for the Banyan Tree ritual.
The Banyan Tree Ritual
The last entries of the diary clearly stated how the members should hang themselves. In a simulation of the branches of the Banyan Tree. This would help them attain salvation. Hence, this case has also been classified as a cult-based mass suicide.
In Closing
What extreme measures could a person resort to for their beliefs? Should such sickening rituals even exist? How did Lalit become the real-life pied piper making everyone follow him blindly?
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