More chilling details have emerged in connection with the deaths of three sisters who allegedly jumped from their ninth-floor apartment in a housing complex in Ghaziabad in the early hours of Wednesday.
Initial reports suggest the girls were deeply immersed in a Korean online game and had been distressed after their parents refused to allow them to continue playing. Police investigations have also uncovered indications pointing in this direction, though the exact cause of the incident is yet to be ascertained.
The sisters — Nishika (16), Prachi (14), and Pakhi (12) — reportedly locked their room from the inside before jumping from the balcony. They were rushed to a hospital in Loni, where doctors declared them brought dead.
Their father, Chetan Kumar, a forex trader, lives with two wives — who are sisters — and their five children, including four daughters and a son, in the same household.
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According to investigators, Kumar was under financial stress, with debts amounting to nearly ₹2 crore, and had recently sold the mobile phone used by the girls to manage household expenses.
Police sources said the sisters were highly fascinated with Korean culture, including K-pop and K-dramas, and even used Korean names—Maria, Aliza, and Cindy—on their social media accounts.
They began playing a task-based online game called ‘Korean Lover’ during the Covid-19 pandemic and had reportedly continued playing it for nearly five years.
Kumar recently discovered their online activities, confiscated the phone, and deleted their social media accounts, said reports. Investigators also recovered a diary from the house in which the girls had written about their deep interest in Korean culture.
“We loved Korean pop music very deeply. We’re sorry. You may not have understood how much it meant to us, but it was a huge part of our lives,” a note read. “At times, it felt like that world mattered more to us than anything else around us,” it added.
Speaking to PTI, Kumar said he was unaware that the game involved specific tasks. He said his daughters had often expressed a desire to visit Korea.
“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.
Police said that Kumar had moved to the Bharat City housing society in Ghaziabad with his family around three years ago.