Debt, despair and Korean drama: What led 3 young sisters jump from a Ghaziabad high-rise

The incident presents a disturbing picture of financial stress, emotional isolation and the fragile inner world of impressionable minds.

An eight-page pocket notebook was found in the room. Written on it was a message asking the parents to read the diary “because it is all true”. (Photo: X & ANI)

Ghaziabad: The deaths of three young sisters who fell from the ninth floor of a high-rise apartment in Ghaziabad have left investigators piecing together a disturbing picture of financial stress, emotional isolation and the fragile inner world of impressionable minds.

On Wednesday morning, the father of the girls told reporters that his daughters had been playing a Korean game that involved completing a series of tasks, with suicide being the final step. By evening, the police said they found no evidence of any such game. Instead, their investigation pointed to a household weighed down by debt, conflict and emotional strain.

The police said the three sisters, 16-year-old Nishika, 14-year-old Prachi and 12-year-old Pakhi, were deeply attached to Korean television dramas, which they watched repeatedly on their parents’ mobile phones. Officers said the influence of these emotionally charged shows may have influenced the trio’s thinking, though the larger and more immediate pressure inside the home was financial distress.

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According to the police, the girls’ father, Chetan Kumar, a stock trader, was under a debt burden of nearly Rs 2 crore. His financial troubles had reached a point where he sold his daughters’ mobile phones to pay the household electricity bill. Officers said he also warned the children that he would marry them off.

Last week, Kumar stopped giving his mobile phone to the three girls altogether. The police believe this sudden withdrawal, along with their strong emotional attachment to Korean dramas, may have upset the sisters.

Investigators also revealed details of the family structure that added to the complexity of the situation. Kumar has two wives, the second being the younger sister of his first wife. He has a son and a daughter from his first marriage and three daughters from his second. His first marriage had completed 17 years when he married his wife’s sister.

The police said the questioning revealed that the family’s financial condition had worsened. The three girls were not sent back to school even after the COVID-19 pandemic eased. The cops said Kumar never resumed their schooling due to the heavy debt burden.

Investigators now believe that several factors (mobile phone dependence, emotional influence from Korean dramas and family pressure and crushing debt) came together inside the apartment. The police suspect this combination pushed the three girls into a state of desperation strong enough to end their lives.

The family was also caring for Kumar’s 14-year-old son from his first marriage, who is mentally challenged. The police said caring for the boy added to the family’s emotional and financial stress at a time when there was little money and mounting pressure.

The final moments

Shortly after the worst phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the family had moved into the two-bedroom flat in the Ghaziabad high-rise three years ago. At around 2 am on Wednesday, residents of the building heard a loud sound, which many initially mistook for heavy objects hitting the ground.

Chaos followed as people rushed out of their homes.

Arun Singh, who lives in a neighbouring flat, told the police that he was standing on his balcony when he saw the three girls outside at that hour. He said the eldest girl appeared to move toward the edge of the balcony. The other two tried to pull her back.

The eldest girl’s face was turned toward the room, with her back facing outward, Singh said. The youngest girl clung to her sister’s waist, while the third held her hand. Moments later, all three fell together.

“We immediately called an ambulance. It came an hour later,” Singh said as quoted by NDTV.

Inside the room

The police said the door of the girls’ room was locked from inside and had to be broken open. Inside, officers found what appeared to be poetic lines and dialogues from movies written down. Photographs of family members were carefully arranged in a circle.

An eight-page pocket notebook was found in the room. Written on it was a message asking the parents to read the diary “because it is all true”.

The police also found a mobile phone with a wallpaper showing the three sisters together. They had given themselves Korean names and written them on the digital image.

Kumar told the police that the family earlier lived in northeast Delhi’s Khajoori Khas before shifting to Ghaziabad.

Although investigators do not believe the girls were following tasks from a dangerous online game, the police said similarities with the infamous ‘Blue Whale Challenge’, which was linked to the suicide of a 14-year-old boy in Mumbai in 2017.

As the investigation continues, the police say the tragedy shows how financial collapse, emotional vulnerability and isolation can build inside a home until it ends in irreversible loss.