Ghaziabad Sisters Cremated as Police Intensify Investigation into Tragic Suicide
The last rites of three sisters from Ghaziabad, who died by suicide earlier this week, were performed late Wednesday night on the banks of the Hindon river. The somber ceremony followed a post-mortem report confirming their deaths resulted from hemorrhage and fractures due to a fall from height, according to Deputy Commissioner of Police, Trans-Hindon, Dasharath Nimish Patil.
Police Focus on Recovering Sold Mobile Phones for Clues
In a critical development, police revealed that the girls' father, Chetan Kumar, had sold two mobile phones—one approximately six months ago and another very recently. Authorities are now making concerted efforts to recover these devices and extract any available data, which could provide vital insights into the circumstances leading to the tragedy. "We are trying to recover the phones and the data in them, if available," stated DCP Patil, emphasizing the importance of this line of inquiry.
Initial Reports and Shifting Narratives in the Case
Initial reports from Ghaziabad Police sources had suggested the sisters, aged 12, 14, and 16, took their own lives after their father objected to their "excessive online gaming." However, police later clarified that the girls were obsessed with "Korean culture" and had left behind a purported suicide note referencing several online games and their self-identification as Korean, which they believed precluded marriage to Indian men.
Despite these details, DCP Patil noted that the investigation has not yet indicated any direct role of task-based gaming apps in the deaths. "If we find any task-based gaming app in the phones [that the father sold], this angle would be investigated," he explained, keeping all possibilities open.
Father's Statement and Family Background
Chetan Kumar, the grieving father, briefly addressed reporters, reiterating his daughters' "Korean obsession" as a contributing factor. "I have lost my daughters to some Korean obsession," he said before retreating into his flat. The sisters, born to Kumar's two wives, had not attended school for three years and reportedly immersed themselves in a fantasy online world centered on Korean culture, adopting behaviors and speech they associated with it.
According to police, the suicide occurred after the girls' phones were confiscated, and they were instructed to stop consuming Korean content online. They allegedly jumped from the ninth-floor window of their Bharat City township flat.
Insights from a Former Tutor on the Sisters' Behavior
A woman hired by the father to tutor the girls after they left school provided further context. She described the sisters as appearing "normal" but academically behind their peers. "They came across as completely normal when I first saw them three years ago," she recalled, noting their distinctive hairstyles and immediate mention of liking "Korean" when asked about their interests.
The tutor explained that she accepted their school withdrawal during the pandemic as understandable but found them slower in learning tasks. After about a week, she realized she could not provide the personalized attention they needed and returned the advance payment, ending her brief engagement with the family.
This tragic incident highlights broader concerns about youth mental health, online influences, and familial dynamics in the digital age, as authorities continue to piece together the events leading to the untimely deaths of these three young sisters.
