Burari case could be nation's 1st instance of shared psychosis

The Burari case of mass suicide is the rarest of rare case of shared psychosis and experts say it could be the first of its kind in India. Mental health specialists say that the 11 members of the Chundawat family, who were found hanging in their home in New Delhi last Sunday, could have been saved with timely mental health care.

Experts feel that one or more members of the family may have been mentally ill for 15 years, if not longer. "If it really is a case of shared psychotic disorder, then something on such a large scale has never been heard of before," said Dr Nimesh Desai, Director of the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences in Delhi.

Explaining the disorder, Desai recalls a similar case: American religious cult leader Jim Jones led more than 900 people to mass suicide in Guyana in 1978. In that case, says Desai, the mass suicide took place due to an already existing belief system, as opposed to the Burari case, where the disorder of one person seems to have driven others to end their lives.

Police probe seems to say that the family followed the lead of the youngest son, Lalit. "It seems that one person pulled down everyone who was emotionally dependant on him," says Desai.

Desai adds that while most mass suicides are spiritually instigated, they did not involve "induced behaviour" like in the Burari case.

Mental health professionals are using the opportunity to emphasise on the importance of timely mental health care. Some even say that while it is legally difficult to treat people who refuse treatment, leaving them alone could lead to tragedies.

"While the Nipah virus killed 18 in Kerala in a week, a psychiatric illness killed 11 in Burari and this is just a tip of the iceberg," wrote Dr Jateen Ukrani, Senior Psychiatrist of Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital. "The case needs a detailed psychological autopsy."

He adds that while he has observed cases where the parents and children have the same disorder, he has never heard of it on such a large scale.

"Since family members are emotionally dependent on each other and drive each other, the disorder becomes difficult to diagnose," adds Ukrani.

TIMELY CARE NEEDED

Mental health professionals are using the opportunity to emphasise on the importance of timely mental health care.