“Sorry, papa. I am feeling very, very alone” — these were the final words of three sisters who died by suicide after jumping from the ninth floor of their residential building in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad. The incident took place around 2 am on Wednesday.
The suicide of the three sisters – aged 12, 14, and 16 – has brought focus on a yet-to-identified task-based Korean online gaming app that the girls were believed to be addicted to. The girls' father, who has been married twice and has five children, including his three daughters who died, told India Today TV that police officials told him that "yesterday was the last task."
Of the three victims, two of them were the daughters of the man's second wife, while one was the daughter from his first marriage.
A note was found in the victims' room, with a crying emoji, which read, "A true life story. Is diary mein jo kuch bhi likha hain, woh sab padh lo, kyunki ye sab sach hain. (Whatever you are seeing in this diary, read everything, because everything is true) Read now! I am really sorry, sorry papa."
Preliminary enquiries suggest the sisters had been spending significant time on mobile phones and were allegedly addicted to the Korean gaming app.
The victims' father said he was unaware that his daughters were playing a task-based game, and he was told about it by forensic experts during the investigation. He said he was told that there were 50 tasks in the game and the last one was completed on Monday.
During a search of the family’s flat, police recovered the one-page suicide note addressed to the girls’ parents. Police took the note into custody as part of the investigation.
Police also found photos of the family members scattered on the floor of the victims' room following the incident. Scribbles on the wall inside the building were found that read, "I am very, very alone. My life is very, very alone."
Residents reported hearing a loud noise and raised an alarm, after which police were informed. A team reached the spot, secured the area, and sent the bodies for post-mortem examination.
A neighbour who witnessed the final moments of the victims described the horrific scene he saw, saying he initially mistook them for a couple with a child attempting suicide, and that it was an abnormal feeling.
WHAT POLICE SAID
Police are yet to confirm whether the suicide is linked to online gaming addiction and said the exact reason behind the deaths is still unclear.
"We received information that three girls jumped to their death from the ninth-floor balcony of their building. Police rushed to the spot and took the bodies into custody. The victims were rushed to a hospital in Loni where they were declared brought dead," Superintendent of Police (SP) Atul Kumar Singh said.
Police are questioning the family members and examining the girls’ mobile phones and their digital activities. They also said that cyber experts may assist in analysing online interactions and app usage history.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Nimish Patil said the victims were influenced by Korean culture. He said the family had banned mobile phones for some days and that no information about the tasks or games had been found.
WHAT THE VICTIMS' FATHER SAID
According to Chetan Kumar, the father of the victims, he was unaware of his daughters playing an online task-based game.
"I never knew that it would be a task-based game in which they tell you to die. I thought they were playing ludo. Forensic experts told me that my daughters were involved in such a game. They used to play on a mobile phone, which was seized by police," he told India Today TV.
According to police sources, there were a total of 50 tasks in the app and that the 14-year-old girl was the leader of the game, who decided the commands.
It is suspected that the girls used a two-step ladder to jump off the balcony as part of the game task.
Police sources said the victims did not let anyone suspect that they were playing such a game. An investigation is underway into who told them to start playing the task-based game.
FATHER OF VICTIMS WAS MARRIED TWICE
The victims' father, Chetan Kumar, was married twice. He first married a woman who was not able to conceive initially. He then married the woman's younger sister, with whom he had three children. Later, the first wife had two children.
Among the three victims who died by suicide, two were daughters from the man’s second marriage, while the third was his daughter from his first marriage.
Police sources said all the three girls had not attended school for the past two years. The two surviving children are – a boy who is 9-years-old and a girl, 3.
Police are investigating the triple suicide case from multiple angles, including the link with the victims' addiction to the task-based Korean game.
