Ghaziabad sisters' deaths: Police hunt two mobile phones sold by father for crucial clues

• Three sisters died in Ghaziabad after falling from a ninth-floor window
• Police seek two sold mobile phones for clues to the sisters' state of mind
• Family cites the girls' intense fixation on Korean culture as a possible factor

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The three young sisters who died in an apparent suicide pact in Ghaziabad were cremated late Wednesday night on the banks of the Hindon river, as police revealed a critical new line of inquiry: the pursuit of two mobile phones sold by their father, which may hold digital clues to their state of mind.

The girls, aged 12, 14, and 16, died from injuries sustained after falling from the ninth-floor window of their family’s flat in Bharat City township early Wednesday morning. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Trans-Hindon) Dasharath Nimish Patil confirmed the post-mortem report cited “haemorrhage due to ante mortem injury” and fractures consistent with a fall from height.

The tragedy has unfolded against a backdrop of what the family describes as the sisters’ intense fixation on Korean culture. Their father, Chetan Kumar, in a brief statement to reporters, said, “I have lost my daughters to some Korean obsession,” before retreating into his flat.

Police had earlier disclosed the discovery of a purported suicide note containing references to the girls identifying as “Korean” and expressing a belief that this precluded marriage to Indian men. Initial reports suggested the suicide was triggered by their father objecting to “excessive online gaming,” but authorities have since nuanced that assessment.

A potentially significant breakthrough hinges on recovering two mobile phones. DCP Patil stated, “The father of the girls had sold two mobile phones – one about six months ago and the other very recently. We are trying to recover the phones and the data in them, if available.”

He clarified that the current investigation has not established a link to any “task-based game” in the deaths. However, he noted, “If we find any task-based gaming app in the phones, this angle would be investigated.”

Further details emerging paint a picture of increasing isolation. The sisters, born to Kumar’s two wives, had not attended school for three years, since the pandemic. A woman hired as a private tutor during that period provided The Indian Express with a poignant account of her short time with them.

“They came across as completely normal when I first saw them three years ago,” the tutor recalled, describing their hairstyles. “When I asked them what they liked, they said ‘Korean’.” She did not find this unusual, given the popularity of Korean dramas.

The father, she said, had hoped tutoring would help them reintegrate into formal education. However, in her home classroom, the sisters always sat together, apart from other children. “They would try to do the tasks I set them, but they were slower,” she said. After about a week, feeling unable to provide the intensive, personalised attention they required, she returned the advance fee and ended the lessons.

Police indicated the fatal jump occurred after the girls’ phones were taken away and they were instructed to stop consuming Korean content online. While the family’s claims about gaming are being verified, the primary focus is on the sisters’ social isolation, skewed family dynamics and the financial strain the household was under.