Obscure Occurrences : The Creepy Case of The Burari Deaths

 After being a farmer family living in a desert, the Chundawat decided it was time for a change and moved to Northern Delhi in 1989 after selling all their farmlands. Initially, it was just Bhopal, his wife and youngest son who moved out but over the following two decades, the rest of the family moved along with him. By 2007, 12 Chundawats were living in the same house in Delhi. The family’s main source of income came from their grocery and plywood shop which they had set up on the first floor of their house.

 In fact, the family made good profits from the shop and this was not just because of the quality of their goods but also because of their warm personality.  Bhopal had a really friendly personality and the neighbourhood saw him as a father figure and his wife Narayani as a mother figure. Thus, they called them Daddy and Mommy. Narayani was a really caring woman who had a habit of giving food and drinks to the workers on the streets and also, took care of the kids of the locality as if they were her own. Also, the other Chundawat who were Bhopal’s three children, their two wives and his five grandchildren, were always present in the store and they were also well respected.

 Bhopal met his demise in 2007 and the family suddenly lost their patriarch but, despite such a big loss, the family handled the situation quite well. Following Bhopal’s death, the family started to improve in every aspect and they also started spending longer hours at the store which led them to set up another store with their profits. Also, the family members’ health significantly improved and they completely gave up on alcohol and tobacco. Even the kids of the family changed and they started doing better in school. Although the neighbours noticed this sudden improvement in the family, they were only happy about it and they did not question anything. But as things, unfolded they would understand the creepiness that was causing these changes.

 The Chundawats who always opened their store at 6 in the morning did not open it on the 1^st of July in 2018 and they were not responding to their neighbours’ calls. Eventually, a 70-year-old neighbour walked to their house to check on the family and make sure they were alright but he did not get any response despite knocking on their door multiple times. As he kept knocking, he accidentally twisted the door knob and to his surprise, the door opened. As he entered the house yelling out the names of the family members, he saw something so terrifying that he literally fainted. He ran out of the house screaming in fear and the police were eventually informed.

 The police officer who initially checked the house at first was also not able to stay in it for more than 10 seconds and just like the 70-year-old neighbour ran out of it before eventually going back in with the other officials. During their investigation, the police found 11 hidden diaries that gave full insights into the road to this dreadful sight.

Road to the Tragedy

 Shortly after Bhopal’s death, the Chundawats called a priest to help them with a prayer that honoured their lost patriarch. During the prayer, Bhopal’s youngest son named Lalit started chanting and it captured the attention of the other family members. A few years back, Lalit met with an accident and it took away his ability to speak. Thus, the family were completely shocked hearing him speak out of the blue and as his chants continued, they heard his voice slowly transform into Bhopal’s voice. After this incident, Lalit kept his newly found voice.

 Although the initial days after this event were completely normal, things started to quickly change from the 7^th of September, 2007. From this day onwards, Lalit started laying out rules for the family and the number of these rules kept increasing. These rules ranged from what, when and how they ate to what and when they sold things in their shop. The intensity of the rules kept increasing every day and at one point, it felt as if the family were going through a punishment. Lalit told the family that Bhopal was possessing him every night and he used his body to write down these rules to help them save their souls. In line with these rules, the family had to reach the house before 9 pm and at 9 pm, Lalit would be possessed by Bhopal and lead a prayer that lasted for almost 30 minutes. With time, the family completely accepted Lalit as Bhopal and everyone except Bhopal’s wife, addressed him as Daddy.

 With the weirdness continuing, Bhopal’s grandchildren grew up and on June 17^th, they organized a grand engagement party. A couple of weeks later, they invited one of their neighbours for a dinner. This neighbour noted that everything was completely normal and everything the family talked to him was about the wedding which was a few months away. 2 days after this dinner, the family did not open their shop which led to the 70-year-old neighbour finding them dead in their house.

The Terrible Discovery

 Ten members of the Chundawat family were found hanging dead in the front hallway. They were hanging in a circular pattern while being very close to each other. All of their hands and feet were tied together, their eyes were blindfolded with strips of cloth, their mouths were tapped and their ears were sealed with cotton balls. Underneath their hanging bodies were toppled over black stools. The remaining member of the family, which was Bhopal’s wife, was lying dead in her bed with a belt next to her. The police initially thought they were murdered but upon reading the diaries they understood that what happened was far more sinister. 

 Lalit who was apparently possessed by Bhopal told his family members that in order to truly save their souls, they had to do a ritual which he called “badh tapasya” and in this ritual, the family members had to hang down like the roots of the banyan tree. The family practised performing this ritual for eight days and during these practice sessions, they learned to tie up their hands and legs and put their heads through a noose, tighten the knot, blindfold themselves and seal their ears with their tied hands.

 On the day of the ritual, the family sacrificed burnt offerings and proceeded to do the “badh tapasya”. Lalit and his wife helped the other family members get themselves in the hanging position and since Narayani was not able to get into this position, they took her into the bedroom and strangled her to death with the belt that was lying near her. Once she showed no more movement, they undid the belt and went back to the hall to complete the ritual. They walked around the room toppling the stools on which the family members were standing and thus hanged them to death. Once they made sure everyone was dead, Lalit and his wife tied their limbs, put their head through the noose, taped their mouths, blindfolded themselves, sealed their ears and toppled the stools they were standing on.

Aftermath

 The family strongly believed that upon the completion of this ritual, Bhopal would walk right into the room and save them from dying. To prove it, they believed that Bhopal would change the colour of the water that was left in a cup near their bodies. They had even left the front door unlocked to make it easier for Bhopal to come in and save them. The family were extremely confident that they would not die from the ritual but things would turn out to be completely different.

 According to many psychologists, the suicides were because of a shared psychotic disorder but Lalit’s elder brother who stays in Rajasthan claims that it was a planned murder. So, was it a suicide driven by delusion or a well-planned murder or the work of something paranormal that pretended to be Bhopal? I leave it to your judgement.