Three Minor Sisters Suicide in Ghaziabad | Korean Gaming Addiction Blamed

Early police enquiries conducted by the police of Ghaziabad show that the girls aged 12, 14, and 16 had become fully addicted to a Korean challenge-based game on their mobile phones. The tragedy seems to be the result of a long-term confrontation between the children and their parents concerning the overindulgence of the latter with digital devices.

A Planned Jump from the 9th Floor

Police reports indicate that the incident took place at around 2:15 am. The sisters, who were Nishika (16), Prachi (14), and Pakhi (12), were in their bedroom, and the rest of the family was asleep.

The police assume that the sisters went to the puja room (prayer room) of the apartment and locked the door there. Using a chair to reach the window, they supposedly leaped one over the other.

The occupants of the society were alerted by a series of loud thuds, so they went racing to the first floor, where they found the three girls lying lifeless.

Soon police came and took the sisters to a hospital in Loni, where all three were pronounced dead on arrival.

Delusion of Being “Korean Princess”

In the process of searching the flat of the family, the investigators found an appalling and sadistic trail of evidence, including a one-page note to their parents that said nothing but: Mummy, Papa, sorry.

Nevertheless, the personal journals of the girls provided more information on their psychological status. The notes and sketches in it signified a great alienation of reality.

According to the latest news update, the girls thought that they were not Indians but were Korean princesses.

They were obsessed with a game played online in the Korean language, which involved the accomplishment of certain tasks in life.

To an extreme level, neighbors and police noted that the sisters were inseparable even after doing the same rudimentary things like bathing and eating.

As the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Atul Kumar Singh observed, the girls had been obsessed with the game to the extent that it affected their education in a drastic way. Despite being 16, the oldest sister is said to have been stuck in Class 4, a lack of growth that had begun in the COVID-19 pandemic when their lives were initially taken over by online gaming.

A Family in Turmoil

The girls were living with their father, who was a forex trader, and their mothers. The 16-year-old was the daughter of the first wife of the father, and the two younger ones belonged to the second wife of the father.

The family knew very well about the addiction and had made numerous efforts to restrain the addiction by taking away the mobile phones belonging to the children. However, most of the interventions often brought about domestic friction. A comparable argument over their screen time is thought to have happened on the evening of the tragedy and provided the ultimate catalyst for the suicide pact.

Community and Authorities React

The Bharat City society is still mourning, and the digital footprints on devices of the girls are still being analyzed by the forensic teams.

“We are examining the mobile phones to identify the specific app and whether there was any external communication or ‘tasks’ that encouraged this act,” a senior police official stated.

The case has again raised the issue of the silent pandemic of digital addiction among minors. Parents are being encouraged by experts to be more careful, not just about the amount of time spent in front of screens, but also about the nature of the material that their children are viewing, and especially those apps that promote the use of role-playing or multiple identities.

The investigation is ongoing, with the bodies of the three sisters being sent to undergo post-mortem examination.

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