Delhi’s House of Death

 

 


On 1st July, 2018 eleven bodies were found dead in Burari, India. This family was very social, considerate and highly respected in their social circle. They were financially well and owned a grocery store and plywood business. They were very punctual and disciplined and used to open their grocery shop sharp 6 am every morning. Neighbors got worried when none from the family showed up for opening shop. An elderly neighbor went inside the house to see if something was wrong. He was shocked to see 10 dead bodies hanging from the iron mesh. Eldest member of the family, Narayan Devi was found strangulated.  

Eleven members of the family included 77-year-old Narayan Devi, her two sons Bhavnesh Bhatia (50) and Lalit Bhatia (45), their wives Savita (48) and Tina (42) respectively, Narayan’s daughter Pratibha (57) and five grandchildren, Priyanka (33), Neetu (25), Monu (23), Dhruv (15) and Shivam (15) were found blindfolded with their mouths covered with while cloth. The limbs of the eight of the bodies were tied.



It was a horrible incident that left people bewildered. The family had a very polite image and didn’t even use harsh words with anyone. Enmity of family with someone was out of question. Initial investigations did probe theft or robbery but not even a single thing was touched in the house by anyone. All the material things in possession of the family were untouched. Police discovered diaries in possession of this family and that solved the maze.

Lalit, the 45 years old member of the family took hold of the family affairs after his father’s death in 2007. He surprisingly started imitating behavior of his father and would tell that he can see his father. According to Lalit, his father gives him instructions in all affairs of life. After few incidents family had blind trust in what Lalit was saying and started following him with all conviction. These incidents include miraculous regain of speaking ability of Lalit which he lost due to an accident in his plywood shop. Doctors had confirmed permanent loss of his speaking ability but Lalit started speaking when he got up one morning, saying that it is due to his father’s soul that came and cured him while he was sleeping.

According to the notes in Lalit’s diary, the ritual of hanging and going through the pain of death was planned to get salvation and to abolish all their troubles. The written account of their plan is the basis of all the conclusions that was drawn from the incident. Diary contains careful planning of the deaths. But this ritual was least intended to commit suicide. The family was convinced that they will achieve ‘salvation’ with their act and will be rescued by the spirit of Lalit’s father at the last moment when water in the glass changes its color.

All members of the family had planning of activities for the next day which showed their confidence in what Lalit was planning for them. Family had upcoming wedding too for which all of them were quite enthusiastic. Police had many investigation angles among which ‘shared psychosis’, which is a psychiatric syndrome, seems cause of this tragic incident. In this disorder symptoms of a delusional belief are transmitted from one individual to another. Lalit was the one who was transmitting these beliefs to other family members.

It is baffling that no one in the neighborhood or even the Bhatia family’s closest relatives had the least hint of what was coming. Apparently, they were quite normal. It requires thorough check and sensitivity to abnormal activities so that tragic incidents like Burari deaths are avoided.

Besides, superstitions are still very common in the Indian society. It is therefore not a surprise that people resort to such practices and harbor such thinking even in these times. The Burari case however stands apart in the way the ‘religious ritual’ was planned and executed, the case took the superstition practices to the extremes. We still have a long way to go to embrace modern thought and reason.