On July 1, 2018, eleven members of the Chundawat family were found dead under
mysterious circumstances in the Burari area of northern Delhi, India. All
eleven were blindfolded; ten were found hanging by the neck, and an elderly
woman was lying on the ground.
Members.
The Chundawat family had been living there for about twenty years; they owned
a grocery store and a plywood business in the area. The family consisted of:
- Narayani Devi (80), mother of Bhuvnesh, Lalit, and Pratibha.
- Bhuvnesh (50), Narayani Devi's eldest son.
- Lalit (45), Narayani Devi's youngest son.
- Savita (48), Narayani Devi's eldest daughter-in-law.
- Tina (42), Narayani Devi's younger daughter-in-law.
- Pratibha Bhatia (57), the widowed daughter of Narayani Devi.
- Priyanka (33), Pratibha's daughter.
- Nitu (25), Bhuvnesh's eldest daughter.
- Menaka (Monu) (16), Bhuvnesh's youngest daughter.
- Dhruv (15), Bhuvnesh's only child and youngest son.
- Shivam (15), Lalit's son and only child.
Suicide.
On the morning of Sunday, July 1, around 7:15 a.m., Gurcharan Singh, a
neighbor who used to shop at the family's grocery store noticed that the store
hadn't opened at its usual time. Upon entering the house, whose doors were
unlocked, he discovered a shocking scene.
|
| Gurcharan Singh. |
Ten of the eleven people, two men, six women, and two teenagers, were found
hanging in the courtyard of the house. They had been blindfolded and their
mouths had been covered with duct tape. Some of the bodies also had their
hands and feet bound. Another woman, 80-year-old Narayani Devi, was found
dead on the floor of another room. It appeared she had been strangled.
The family members were found hanging from a net on the ceiling in the
hallway, all together. Their faces were almost completely covered, their
ears plugged with cotton, their mouths taped shut, and their hands tied
behind their backs. There were five stools, which the ten family members had
likely shared. Their faces were covered with pieces of cloth cut from a
single sheet.
Tommy, the family’s pet dog, was the only survivor in the house. He was
chained up on the terrace and had a high fever when the police found him
after discovering the eleven bodies. It was unclear who had tied him up. It
was later reported that he was recovering at the Noida Stray Animal Shelter,
where he was taken immediately after being rescued. Tommy died of a heart
attack on Sunday, July 22, 2018.
Authorities revealed that there were no signs of forced entry, theft, or signs
of a struggle, which quickly ruled out the possibility of a homicide motivated
by external factors.
The diary.
According to the investigation, the police found eleven diaries in the
house, all of which had been kept for 11 years (2007–2018), containing
instructions describing how the bodies were found: their faces covered,
their mouths taped shut, and cotton balls in their ears. The diary also
mentions:
"When performing the Badh Tapasya, the body must be bound and the mind
must be focused. You must hang like the roots of the Banyan tree... When
you are hanging, the water will change color, the spirit will come and
bring you down, saving you",
which suggests that the family did not expect to die.
The motive.
Investigations revealed that, in 2007, Lalit Chundawat’s father, Bhopal
Singh, died of natural causes. After his father’s death, Lalit became very
withdrawn. One day, he told his family that he was possessed by his father’s
spirit, who advised him on how to lead a good life. Since 2007, he has kept
a diary following his father’s “instructions.”
Through Lalit, the supposed spirit gave extremely detailed instructions on
how the family should live, manage their businesses, and interact with one
another. Over the years, the family attributed their financial success to
strictly following these “orders.”
|
| Bhopal Singh. |
The ritual.
The latest entries in the diary described, step by step, a seven-day ritual
called “Badh Tapasya” by Lalit himself, which culminated in their deaths on
June 30. The notes detailed exactly how they were to tie themselves up, gag
themselves, and hang themselves. The diary stated that, at the climax of the
ritual, their father’s spirit would appear to untie the ropes, save them,
and bestow a special blessing upon them, which, unfortunately, never
happened.
This ritual was entirely invented by Lalit Chundawat, who blended his own
ideas with symbols that do exist in Hindu religion and culture, such as the
Bengal fig tree (Banyan tree, known in Hindi as Badh or Vat Vriksha), which
is highly sacred in Hinduism and represents immortality, eternal life, and
the connection between the earthly and spiritual worlds. Its most iconic
feature is the thick aerial roots that hang from its branches toward the
ground.
On the other hand, “Tapasya” is a Sanskrit term used in Hinduism to refer to
deep meditation, asceticism, or extreme spiritual discipline (such as severe
fasting or maintaining an uncomfortable posture for a long time) in order to
attain a higher state or please the gods.
|
| Badh or Vat Vriksha. |
Folie à plusieurs.
Psychologists have concluded that these deaths are the result of a “shared
delusional disorder” in which members of a group place blind trust in one of
their own and follow instructions without question.
In this case, the delusion is believed to have developed in 2004, when the
young Lalit suffered a traumatic accident after being trapped in a fire at a
lumberyard, sustaining serious head injuries and losing his ability to
speak. Three years later, following his father’s death, Lalit was
devastated. One day, suddenly, he regained his voice. He attributed this
“miracle” to his father’s spirit. The family, deeply religious and
vulnerable due to their grief, also interpreted it as a divine intervention,
which validated his spiritual authority from the very beginning.
It is known that the family was convinced they would survive. They left a
prepared meal in the kitchen for the next day, and they did not write any
wills or traditional farewell notes, which reinforced the conclusion that they
expected to continue with their lives after the ceremony.
CCTV footage.
Among the evidence related to the bizarre suicide is a video recorded by a
security camera showing three members of the family carrying the stools and
cables used in the mass hangings. There is also another video showing Lalit at a store hours before his death.
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