Kamal Ghorui
Father recalls daughters’ gaming habit as police probe Ghaziabad sisters’ deaths
GHAZIABAD: The father of three minor sisters who allegedly jumped to their deaths from a ninth-floor flat in Ghaziabad early Wednesday said he was unaware that the online game his daughters were playing involved “tasks”, and recalled that the middle sister, Prachi, appeared to direct the other two.The girls — Nishika (16), Prachi (14) and Pakhi (12) — died after jumping from the balcony of their flat in Bharat City society under the Teela Mor police station limits around 2.15 am.
They were rushed to a hospital in Loni, where doctors declared them dead on arrival.Chetan Kumar, the girls’ father, said his daughters had been playing the game for nearly three years and were deeply influenced by Korean content. “They often said they wanted to go to Korea. I did not know that the game involved tasks. I came to know about it only after the police forensic team examined their mobile phones,” he told news agency PTI.Recounting the night of the incident, Kumar said the family was asleep when the girls woke up on the pretext of drinking water, bolted the door from inside and jumped from the balcony. “They threw their mobile phones outside the room. The police later seized them,” he said.Kumar said Prachi had once told him she was the “boss” and that her sisters followed her directions. “I thought it was like the games we played in our childhood. I never imagined this could lead to such a tragedy,” he said.Police officials said preliminary investigation suggested the sisters were addicted to an online Korean task-based interactive game and excessive mobile phone use. Assistant Commissioner of Police Atul Kumar Singh said the three girls did everything together — from eating and bathing to spending most of their time confined to their room.Deputy Commissioner of Police Nimish Patil said the girls had not attended school for the past two to three years and their education had been irregular even earlier. “Family members had restricted their mobile phone usage in recent days, which may have left them distressed,” he said, adding that the probe was still at an early stage.Investigators recovered a diary from the girls’ belongings containing a handwritten note that read, “Sorry, Papa, I am really sorry,” along with a crying-face emoji. Police said the exact circumstances that led to the incident are being investigated and statements of family members are being recorded.An eyewitness told police that the incident unfolded suddenly, leaving no time for intervention.Police have not yet concluded whether the game directly prompted the act and said all angles are being examined.
