Police said preliminary inquiries indicated that the sisters had developed a growing dependence on an online task-based interactive game, and had been spending increasing amounts of time on it.
Three minor sisters died after allegedly jumping from the balcony of their ninth-floor apartment in Ghaziabad in the early hours of Wednesday, with the police suspecting that the incident followed a dispute at home over excessive online gaming.
The victims–Nishika (16), Prachi (14) and Pakhi (12)–were found lying on the ground outside their residential tower in Bharat City township, under the Teela Mor police station limits, after local residents reported hearing a loud noise around 2–2.15 am, the police said.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Shalimar Garden) Atul Kumar Singh said the police received information at 2:18 am and reached the spot immediately.
The girls had jumped from a height of 80 feet. The girls were rushed to a hospital in Loni, where doctors declared them dead on arrival.
The family said they heard a noise and ran outside. “We saw the room was locked. Then we broke the door and found the girls were not there. We ran downstairs and saw the girls lying on the ground,” they said.
As per police sources, all the three girls locked the room from inside and jumped from the balcony.
ACP Singh said preliminary inquiries indicated that the sisters had developed a growing dependence on an online task-based interactive game, and had been spending increasing amounts of time on it.
“The parents had objected to their excessive gaming, which appears to have led to discussions and disagreements at home,” he said.
According to the police, the sisters had also begun skipping school frequently and spent most of their time together at home.
Investigators said the siblings had become accustomed to doing most activities together, including studying and playing online games.
Sources said the girls were so obsessed with the game, they thought of themselves as Korean princesses.
The eldest daughter, Nishika, was born to Chetan Kumar and his first wife. The younger daughters were born to Kumar and his second wife.
According to ACP Singh, the girls were with their mother till midnight. After around 12:30 am, the girls left their room saying they wanted to get water to drink. The girls then bolted the balcony door and jumped, allegedly after being forbidden from playing the game.
The night of the incident, Kumar had forbidden the girls from playing the game. Kumar and his wife were sleeping with their son while the three daughters were resting in their room.
Police sources found a diary in the sisters’ room containing an eight-page suicide note. The diary also contained details about their lifestyle and their obsession with the task-based game, said police officers.
The note read: “Mom-Dad, sorry… we cannot quit the game. Now you will realise how much we loved the game, which you wanted us to give up.”
“I’m really sorry. Sorry, Papa, we could not leave the game. The Korean game is our life, our world,” the note said.
