THE BURARI ENIGMA: A FORENSIC LINGUISTIC INVESTIGATION OF SHARED PSYCHOTIC DISORDER

Abstract [English]

Forensic linguistics and shared psychotic disorder are the two disciplines that can intersect in fascinating ways to aid criminal investigations and tragic outcomes linked to shared psychotic disorder. Forensic linguistics is the use of linguistic knowledge in addressing legal issues. It is an area at the junction of law that comes together to unravel important pieces of evidence. A shared psychotic disorder is a rare type of mental illness in which a healthy person starts to take on the delusions of someone who has a psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia. Netflix documentary ‘House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths’ revisited the tragic incident that tied a knot between forensic psychology and forensic linguistics, in which the shared psychotic disorder is the phenomenon wherein a person who does not have any pre-existing mental health disorder comes to believe the delusions of others with a psychotic disorder. The Burari case, involving the death of eleven members of the Chundawat Bhatia family in Delhi, remains a puzzling event. Though called a “mass suicide” at first, the circumstances of the deaths, including the retrieval of handwritten diaries detailing elaborate ceremonies, have fueled speculation and debate. Taking to the point, this research paper examines the possible influence of shared psychotic disorder on the Burari tragedy through forensic linguistic analysis of the recovered diaries. By analyzing the language used in the diaries parallel to the incidents, this research study hopes to provide insights into the psychoanalysis that may lead to this mass suicide.