Pankhudi Narayan
Blogpost 1
TW: Death, mentions of suicide.
On July 1st of 2018, eleven members of a family were found dead in their shared home in the Burari area of Delhi. The deaths seemed to be fashioned in a ritualistic manner and evidence suggested that the family members were willing participants. This was the Bhatia family, a typical middle-class Indian joint family. Bhopal Singh who had passed away and his wife Narayani Devi formed the older generations of the family and were Lalith’s parents. The most compelling evidence in the uncovering of the events that led to the death of an entire family was provided by eleven diaries found by authorities. The diaries described the events that transpired before the deaths, discussing a ritual that needed to be conducted and the diary entries were corroborated by the post mortem findings as the accounts were found to be consistent with injuries (Yadav et al., 2021). It was uncovered that Lalit, a member of the family who was the younger son of Narayani devi and the late Bhopal Singh stood in the epicentre of the events leading to the deaths. The diary contents were narrated by Lalit and written down by two female members of the family.
Lalit seemed to have presented psychotic symptoms and the family was believed to be a case study for a shared psychotic disorder. I have analysed the layers of Lalit’s psychopathology, how his symptoms could have possibly developed and how it gradually contributed to the death of an entire family. To do this, I employed a holistic approach to analyse the facets of Lalit’s life, using the biopsychosocial perspective. Relevant literature derived from research, instances of Lalith’s life from the Netflix Documentary ‘House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths’ (Yadav et al., 2021) have been incorporated. I also analysed the contents of the diary as it provides a record of the gradual manner in which the rest of the family developed a sense of blind faith in Lalit and the instructions he provided as the new patriarch.
The death of Bhopal Singh caused a shift in the family dynamic with Lalit assuming the responsibilities of a patriarch while grieving the devastating loss of his father. This is evident from the first entry in the diary from september 2007 which was right after the death of Bhopal Singh. The diary was centred around Lalit and provided instructions on how the family should conduct themselves and the routine for the day. This can be seen when Dhruv, one of the youngest children of the family, was asked to be kept in check since he was using his phone excessively and sentences including ‘if you want solutions to your problems, then you must follow Lalit's instructions’ (Yadav et al., 2021).
The diaries suggested that Lalit and his family believed he was possessed by his late father, he experienced auditory hallucinations and had narrated the contents of the diary that were instructional in tone and were centred around himself. The contents covered 2007-2018 and the last entry described how each member of the family was supposed to perform the ‘badh pooja’ or banyan ritual where each family member needed to hang like the roots of a banyan tree. It also becomes clear that the family members did not intend for death to be the outcome of their ritual. Psychotic symptoms are often marked by the presence of auditory hallucinations (Fujii & Ahmed, 2002) that Lalit presented. This was interpreted by his family to be Lalit being possessed by his demised father and it was noted that Lalit would ‘hear’ the voice of his father and also speak and act like him. This is seen when Neetu, one of the family members, had told the neighbours that her uncle was possessed by the grandfather’s spirit and that the spirit guides the family (Yadav et al., 2021).
The onset of Lalith’s psychosis can also be explained by taking his injuries into account. Lalit had survived two major injuries, the first one was a biking accident in 1998 left him with injuries to his head (Yadav et al., 2021). A study revealed that in comparison to the general population, the occurrence of psychotic symptoms were more frequent in individuals who suffered from traumatic brain injury (McAllister, 1998). The second incident took place in 2004, when Lalit was attacked over a payment dispute that resulted in Lalit being brutally beaten and locked inside a burning plywood store (Yadav et al., 2021). This attack was nearly fatal and left Lalit with an inability to speak that has been attributed by Dr. Ambarish Satwik, a vascular surgeon; to be due to deep trauma on a psychological level (Yadav et al., 2021). Despite being advised by his doctor to visit a psychiatrist post this accident, as noted by a neighbour of Lalit's; he did not seek out this option due to the belief that only ‘mad’ people go to a psychiatrist’ (Yadav et al., 2021). This alludes to the stigmatisation of mental health concerns that makes it difficult for people to reach out for help when needed (Corrigan et al., 2014) and studies have shown that untreated trauma can lead to the development of psychosis (Haahr et al., 2016). This can be seen in the case of Lalit who did not seek out psychiatric help even after suffering a traumatic experience and being told to do so by his doctor.
Dr. Ambarish Satwik drew a contrast between the happenings of the family with the beginning of cults as the leader is able to attain blind faith by the demonstration of an extraordinary feat that is usually against the laws of nature (Yadav et al., 2021). This was seen in the Bhatia family when Lalit integrated the instructions from the diary into his daily routine and had regained his ability to speak. This may have been seen as a miracle by the rest of the family and hence, strengthening the reinforcement between following instructions provided and getting desirable outcomes, even if there was a mere correlation. They also prospered financially during this time which further reinforced the idea that following instructions was what was reaping them rewards. The Bhatia family was also isolated as there was control exerted within the family to not mention any of the activities transpired at home to outsiders. Lalith being able to speak again fed into the belief that following the instructions- even following them blindly will wield fruitful results, further reinforcing the belief, making it more concrete for the family members. In an advisory board consisting of scientists and a psychologist, it was heavily concluded that these events led to a case of a shared psychosis disorder (SPD) (Yadav et al., 2021). This refers to the development of delusions in those engaged in a close relationship with someone suffering with delusions (Incorvaia & Helmes, 2006). The correlation of Lalith regaining his speech and the financial prosperity the family witnessed after following thediary’s instructions, reinforced the untrue idea that following instructions was responsible for this. This contributed to the blind faith the family had in Lalit and eventually led them to perform a dangerous ritual.
The events that transpired within the walls of the Burari home were a product of the change in Lalit’s social context with the devastating loss of his father, the social responsibility placed on Lalit as the head of a family within the patriarchal family structure, his injuries and his untreated psychotic symptoms that may have led to a case of shared psychosis. Lalit’s condition was left untreated due to stigmas surrounding mental health and the family’s belief that instructions written in the diary were responsible for their prosperity reinforced blind faith that gradually led to the family taking part in a dangerous ritual, of which they never got to come out alive.
References
Corrigan, P. W., Druss, B. G., & Perlick, D. A. (2014). The Impact of Mental Illness Stigma on Seeking and Participating in Mental Health Care. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 15(2), 37-70. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100614531398
Fujii, D., & Ahmed, I. (2002). Psychotic disorder following traumatic brain injury: a conceptual framework. Cogn Neuropsychiatry, 7(1), 41-62. doi: 10.1080/135468000143000131
Haahr, U. H., Larsen, T. K., Simonson, E., Rund, B. R., Joa, I., Rossberg, J. I., Johannessen, J. O., Langeveld, J., Evensen, J., Trauelsen, A. H., Vaglum, P., Opjordsmoen, S., Hegelstad, W. V., Friis, S., McGlashan, T., & Melle, I. (2016). Relation between premorbid adjustment, duration of untreated psychosis and close interpersonal trauma in first-episode psychosis. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 12(3), 316-323. https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.12315
Incorvaia, D., & Helmes, E. (2006). Shared Psychotic Disorder: A Psychosocial Psychosis? Current Psychiatry Reviews, 2(3), 353-360. https://doi.org/10.2174/157340006778018148
McAllister, T. W. (1998). Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychosis: What Is the Connection? Semin Clin Neuropsychiatry, 3(3), 211-223. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10085209/
Yadav, L., Bajaj, A., & Haygood, J. (Executive Producers). (2021). The House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths [TV series]. Qutub-E-Kripa. https://www.netflix.com/title/81095095
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