Real vs Reel: Is 'House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths' a true story based on mass suicide of a Delhi Family?

Created by Leena Yadav, House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths is based on a real-life story. House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths is based on the shocking case of mass suicide in which eleven family members of the Chundawat family from Burari, Delhi were found dead in 2018. Ten people were found hanged, while the oldest family member, the grandmother, was strangled. The bodies were found on 1 July 2018; in the early morning after the death. The police have ruled the deaths as mass ritual suicide, motivated by shared delusion or psychosis. 

The Burari mass suicide case had stunned not only the people across the country but also the cops who arrived at the scene. House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths also how the cops were also frightened in touching the body as the death of all the eleven members was looking as a part of a ritual. Rajeev Tomar, Head Constable, Burari Police Station (2017-2020) had informed that the mass suicide formation depicted a banyan tree. 

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In fact, the post-mortem reports revealed that the deaths of the members were due to hanging only ruling out the murder angle. Not only this, there was nothing stolen from the house and it was locked from the inside which had also ruled out suspicion of burglary. 

The Police came to the conclusion and termed the deaths as motivated by shared delusion or psychosis after they recovered 11 diaries beside the temple of the house where the earliest entry was dated 2007 and the last entry was made the night before the incident (2018). The crime branch had opined that the language that was used in the diaries was instructional, commanding, and conversational. In fact, the last page of the diary had all the instructions that needed to be followed by the family, and that eventually unfolded to become a horrifying incident. 

The last diary entry that was made explained a ritual called “Banyan Tree Ritual” which would run for a period of seven days along with the puja called, Badh Puja. Badh is originally a tree that has its roots hanging from the branches. The time of the incident was mentioned in the diary (supposedly at 1 am in the morning). In fact, it ws also revealed that the diaries mentioned every little and minute detail that the family was abiding by in order to conduct their lives. The diaries also had indications of the family conducting witchcraft and occult practices. It felt as if some third person or mystical energy was directing the 11 members thereby controlling them.