A WOMAN has revealed how 11 members of her family died in a mass suicide in a chilling case that shocked the world.
Even the most experienced investigators froze when they saw all the bodies hanging from the ceiling of the same residence in what has been described as an “occult suicide pact”.
The bone-chilling case emerged in the summer of 2018 in New Delhi, India, when the entire Chundawat family were suddenly found dead.
Ten of them – including two children – were found hanged in a neat formation from an iron mesh in the ceiling, while the family’s elderly grandmother was discovered lying lifeless in another room.
All the hanged bodies were identically positioned; they were all blindfolded with their hands tied and cotton stuffed inside their ears.
The grandmother, who was the only person who was found not hanged, had been strangled to death, according to the investigating cops.
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Only the family’s pet dog, a black Labrador, was left alive but was found in an unconscious state.
The disturbing case was later turned into a Netflix series called House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths – a three-part chilling documentary that explored the shocking case of what experts have called “shared psychosis”.
After years of extensive investigation, Delhi police said in its closure report in 2021 that the family died of a “suicide pact”.
However, the sister of the Indian family Sujata Nagpal, who lives in the neighbouring Haryana state, told The Sun that she doubts the police investigation.
She said: “I believe somebody is involved. They were my family, and I knew them very well.
“They did not have any reason to take such a step.”
The tragic scene looked extremely ritualistic, as if everything was almost staged.
There were no signs of forced entry, no signs of struggle, but cops found chilling notes beside the bodies.
It was as if the entire family had walked willingly into their own deaths.
It appeared that Lalit Chundawat – the head of the family – was likely the architect of a ritual gone wrong.
It has since haunted viewers in the UK for its scary details about how Lalit was the alleged “mastermind” of the “mass suicide” after he created a mini-cult in the family, influencing everyone to believe he could connect to his deceased father.
Ms Nagpal said her family was a simple and typical Indian joint family.
The eldest member of the family was Narayan Devi, who lived with her two sons, Bhavnesh, 50, and Lalit, 45, and her unmarried daughter Pratibha.
Bhavesh and Lalit lived with their wives, Savita and Teena, alongside their five children between the ages of 15 and 33.
Priyanka, 33, who worked in the IT sector, was engaged and set to be married the following month.
The brothers ran a grocery shop and plywood business a few steps away from their house.
Neighbours described them as “normal, polite, hardworking”.
But no one knew that each of the family members would be found dead at the same time.
It is understood that behind closed doors a disturbing spiritual fixation had been building for years, led by Lalit, the family’s quiet, soft-spoken son.
Lalit, who survived a near-fatal accident years earlier, reportedly began hearing the voice of his deceased father.
He claimed his father’s spirit guided him, warned him, and reassured him.
To the surprise of investigators, the entire family believed him.
They treated these “messages” as divine commandments, obeying every instruction without question.
Ms Nagpal said the family was very excited for Priyanka’s wedding – and showed no signs of suicidal behaviour.
She said: “They had called me the night before and discussed my niece’s wedding.
“They were planning the functions and invited me for shopping. How can they do it then?”
Reliving the horror moment she saw all the bodies, Ms Nagpal added: “I cannot stop thinking about the sight of the bodies.
“It has been eight years, we are still in shock but what can we do? We have to live with this pain.”
Madan Kumar, next-door neighbour, who was among the first people to bear the scary sight, said he was in “disbelief” when he saw the bodies hanging.
“It was unbelievable. I couldn’t believe our eyes.
Preet Maan, 54, a family friend who also features in the documentary, said she had known them for 25 years.
“They were happy and nice people, they never fought with anyone, they were very peaceful people,” she told The Sun.
“They were a close family and everyone lived happily with each other.”
But the real frenzy erupted when investigators discovered notebooks stacked neatly in a cupboard.
They included hundreds of handwritten pages documenting rituals, instructions, punishments, and spiritual “rules”.
These notes described in chilling detail how to stand, how to tie hands, how to blindfold oneself, and most disturbingly, how to remain calm because “this is only a temporary state”.
The writings indicated the family believed they were preparing for a “rebirth experiment”, a ritual that would bring them salvation, not death.
Police believe they expected to regain consciousness after divine intervention.
According to the investigators, Lalit suffered from past trauma and dissociative episodes, which made him vulnerable to hallucinations.
Forensic psychologists later said this was a case of shared psychosis, or “folie à famille,” where a dominant personality’s delusion spreads through the entire household.
Dinesh, the eldest brother of the family who lives in Rajasthan, said that he had read the notes and had accepted their deaths.
“I have stopped thinking about them, what happened or why it happened.
“We don’t know the reasons but if I lived with them or they discussed the problems, I could have saved them,” he said.
“I am yet to overcome this shock. I have accepted their death. I have read everything, the notes in the diary.
“We cannot also blame the investigators.
Ms Maan underlined the need for discussing emotions with friends and family.
“I believe that we as a society also have failed; had they discussed the issues that were bothering them with us, we could have extended some help and saved them.
“People should discuss their mental health issues with loved ones,” Ms Maan said.
Even though the official police investigation concluded it was a mass suicide, the chilling case of the Burari deaths still haunts the people of Delhi.
Many locals refuse to accept the official explanation.
Some locals say that the family was murdered and the scene was staged too perfectly to be a suicide.
Others insist on chilling conspiracy theories ranging from hidden enemies and secret debts to occult groups and even paranormal influence.