Ghaziabad tragedy: Father says they wanted to go to Korea

The father of three minor sisters who allegedly jumped to their deaths from a ninth-floor flat on Wednesday said he was unaware that the game they were playing involved “tasks,” but added that his daughters had repeatedly said that they wanted to go to Korea.

Chetan Kumar, father of Nishika (16), Prachi (14) and Pakhi (12), said, “They had been playing the game for two-and-a-half to three years.  “They often said they wanted to go to Korea. I did not know that this game involved such tasks. I came to know about all this only after the police forensic team examined their mobile phones,” Kumar said.

The police received information around 2.15 am that three girls had jumped off the balcony of a ninth-floor flat in a tower of Bharat City under the Teela Mor police station limits in the Sahibabad area.

On reaching the spot, the police found that the girls had fallen to the ground floor and suffered fatal injuries. They were rushed by an ambulance to a hospital in Loni, where doctors declared them dead on arrival.

Recounting the sequence of events, Kumar said the family was asleep at the time. “My wife was sleeping in the inner room. The girls woke up on the pretext of drinking water, bolted the door from inside and jumped from the balcony,” he said.  He said the girls had mobile phones with them, but he did not notice them immediately.

“They threw the phones outside the room. The police later seized them for investigation,” he added.  Asked whether he ever tried to stop his daughters from gaming, Kumar said he had no idea about the nature of the game.  “If I had known that such tasks existed, no father would ever allow his children to be part of it,” he said.

Kumar said he later learned that the game involved instructions which the children followed.  He recalled that Prachi had once told him she was the ‘boss’ and that her sisters followed her directions. “I thought it was just like the games we played in childhood. I never imagined this could happen,” he said.  Kumar said the three sisters did everything together — eating, bathing and spending time — and mostly remained confined to their room.   He added that the girls had not attended school for the past two to three years after failing academically, which made them feel embarrassed and increasingly withdrawn.

Police have said the sisters were “influenced” by Korean content and were highly “addicted” to mobile phone usage and an online Korean task-based interactive game. Investigators also recovered a diary containing a handwritten note that read, “Sorry, Papa, I am really sorry,” along with a crying-face emoji.

The police said the exact circumstances leading to the incident are still being investigated, and statements of family members are being recorded.

Diary paints a picture of loneliness, isolation

New Delhi: Leaving several notes, “crying caricature” and a sorry message behind, the suicide of three minor sisters in Ghaziabad has put the spotlight on the contents of a handwritten diary and suicide note recovered from their room.

The suicide note, recovered from the room, stated in a Hinglish (Hindi and English mix): “Is diary mein jo kuch bhi likha hai, woh sab padh lo, kyunki ye sab sach hai (Read everything written in this diary because it is all true).” The note again ended with an apology to their parents, particularly their father.

According to police, the central focus of the investigation is the diary titled “True Life Story”, in which the sisters repeatedly urged their parents to read every page. The first page carried a direct apology addressed to their father, ending with a crying emoji. “Read now. I am really sorry. Sorry, papa,” the note read, according to investigators.

Police said the diary entries reflected a strong emotional attachment to Korean entertainment and a sense of loneliness. One of the lines written on the wall of the room read, “I am very, very alone. My life is very, very alone.” Similar feelings were echoed in the diary, where the sisters described themselves as feeling isolated and misunderstood.

The sisters, aged 12, 14, and 16, died after allegedly jumping from the ninth floor of their residential building around 2 am on Wednesday. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Trans-Hindon) Nimish Patil said the case was initially suspected to be linked to a Korean task-based online game, but that angle has been ruled out. “A suicide note and an 18-page diary have been recovered. The girls were influenced by Korean culture, including music, films, and shows. There is no evidence of addiction to any Korean gaming app,” Patil said.

Police found photographs of family members scattered on the floor of the room, which officers said suggested emotional distress rather than preparation linked to any online challenge. The diary also mentioned the girls’ fascination with Korean music, short films, series, and movies, and how closely they identified with the culture they admired.