Delhi's most bizarre family death

On a hot July morning in 2018. The quiet streets of Delhi's Burari area were suddenly shaken by the news of a strange death. Eleven members of a family were found hanging in the same room, in the same position. It was a scene that seemed to have come straight from the pages of a horror novel. Police, journalists, neighbors - no one could believe that such a thing could really happen.

What happened that day?

In the morning, people flocked to the family business of the Chundawat family in Burari to buy pati. No one took the paper from the paper vendor's gate. The milk vendor's milk was lying there until noon. No one opened the door of the house. So everyone slowly started peeking inside the house. But there was no response. No heartbeat. Yet the previous night, all of them were seen at home. No one had left the house.

The house was a small two-story house on Chunavati Road, where the Chundawat family lived. The business was run by Lalit Chundawat, a once cheerful, religious man who had gradually changed after his father's death a few years earlier. The family consisted of his mother, two brothers, their wives, and children. Neighbors said that the family was very polite and hospitable—no one had ever heard of any trouble with anyone.

But when the milkman knocked on the door on the morning of July 1, no one answered. Suspicious, the neighbors went inside and saw what is still remembered in history as the most gruesome family death in India. Ten bodies were hanging from the ceiling of the house, and an old woman lay dead on the floor. Everyone was blindfolded, their hands and feet tied, their faces covered with cloth. Ropes tied to iron pipes were propped up against the wall—as if some planned ritual was taking place.

The police were informed. The police initially thought it might be a case of theft or robbery. The robbers had come to rob and kill everyone. But the 11 diaries recovered from the scene deepened the mystery. They had strange instructions written in them—“Father is with us,” “Close your eyes, don’t be afraid,” “One day everything will be fine.”

The investigation revealed that a ‘Lalit’ in the family believed that the spirit of the deceased father was talking to him and that this ‘meditation’ was being conducted on the instructions of that spirit. The family practiced these writings regularly, even closing the shop the day before his death and ordering milk and bread for the next day, so that they would be alive tomorrow too.

The diaries that were found were written over a period of about 11 years, and each page seemed to show everyone preparing for their own death. Experts later explained this as a case of ‘shared psychosis’ – where one person’s beliefs gradually engulf the entire family. Everyone began to prepare for their own deaths. Lalit instilled in everyone the belief that everyone would attain salvation after death – something their deceased father had told them through him.

The identities of the Chundawat family members who died that day:

Narayani Devi (75 years old)

She was the oldest member of the family. She was the only one not found hanging; she was found dead on the floor. It is believed that she was strangled to death, after which the rest of the members hanged themselves according to the “ritual”.

Bhavnesh Chundawat (50 years old) was Narayani Devi’s eldest son, a businessman. He was found hanging from a pipe in the house.

Savita Chundawat (48 years) was Bhavnesh's wife, and Neetu (25 years) was the daughter of Bhavnesh and Savitha. Her marriage was fixed. The accident occurred a few months before the marriage.

Dhruva (15 years) was the son of Bhavnesh and Savitha and the youngest member of the family.

Lalit Chundawat (45 years) was the younger son of Narayani Devi, who believed that the spirit of his deceased father spoke through him.

He was probably the one who organized the entire ritual as per the "written instructions".

Tina (42 years) was Lalit's wife, and Shivam (23 years) was the only son of Lalit and Tina. He was quite good in studies, known as the favorite child of the family.

Praveen Chundawat (55 years) was the cousin brother of Narayani Devi's elder son, Bhavnesh.

Priyanka (33 years) was Praveen's daughter. Her engagement had been completed just 15 days before the incident. She was found hanging, with marks of puja on her head.

Tina (39 years old), Praveen's wife. There is some confusion due to the similarity of names in different reports, sometimes mentioned as "Bhabana" in some newspapers.

The bodies of 10 people were found hanging, all using plastic tools or chairs.

Narayan Devi was the only one lying on the floor, probably having died earlier or been murdered.

All of them were blindfolded with cloth, and some had their hands tied.

A row of ropes was tied to an iron pipe on the wall, as if they had all committed suicide together in a ritual.

According to the police, this was not suicide, but a kind of collective delusion — they believed that "they would return alive after the ritual".

Eleven diaries were found at the scene, which contained premonitions for each death — when, how, and who would play what role.

Narayan Devi probably did not want to commit suicide at the last moment. Or could not because of her weight. That is why the elders killed her together.

The media named this incident "Burari Deaths”. At that time, it was a storm of discussion all over the world—some said it was black magic, some said it was religious madness, some said it was a terrible form of mental illness. But whatever one may say, this simultaneous extinction of eleven lives still leaves an unresolved question—how far can a person go in the darkness of faith?

Years have passed, but that house in Burari is still abandoned. Locals say that the air there becomes heavy at night, dogs howl. Some say that light and shadow movements can be seen through the cracks in the windows. But perhaps these are just a game of fear and imagination. Still, the silent death of this family in the heart of the Indian capital reminds us—sometimes the most terrible killer is not someone outside, but the blind faith hidden in the heart.