3 sisters - 12, 14, 16 - jump off 9th floor after parents take away phone

AROUND 2.15 am early Wednesday, three sisters jumped from their ninth-floor apartment in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, after leaving a handwritten note that said, "Sorry, Papa".

Pakhi (12), Prachi (14), and Vishika (16) were allegedly upset that their father had taken away their mobile phone.

In the dead of night, the sisters went to their balcony, bolted the door and jumped out of a window, one after the other. Their screams and the sound of the bodies hitting the ground were loud enough to wake their parents, neighbours and security guards at the apartment complex at Bharat City in Ghaziabad.

By the time the parents broke open the door to the balcony, it was too late.

"When we reached the scene, we confirmed that three girls, daughters of Chetan Kumar, had died after jumping from the building," said Atul Kumar Singh, Assistant Commissioner of Police.

Visuals this morning showed the bodies of the girls on the ground, their mother wailing in grief, and a crowd of neighbours in shock.

The sisters were addicted to everything Korean, so much in fact that they had even taken on Korean names. They had reportedly stopped going to school two years ago.

Eight-Page Suicide Note

Investigations are focusing on their suicide note and a diary they cited in it.

"Is diary me jo kuch bhi likha hai woh sab padh lo kyuki ye sab sach hai (Read everything written in this diary because all of it is true.) Read now. I'm really sorry. Sorry, Papa," the note read. It was accompanied by a hand-drawn crying emoji.

The eight-page note was written on the pages of a pocket diary, detailing their mobile activities.

Their father, Chetan Kumar, described what appears to be an extreme addiction to the Korean culture.

"They said, 'Papa, sorry, Korea is our life, Korea is our biggest love, whatever you say, we cannot give it up. So we are killing ourselves," Chetan Kumar wept. "This should not happen to any parent or child."

The note also said, "You tried to distance us from Koreans, but now you know how much we love Koreans."

The girls were deep into K-pop culture and Korean movies, music, short films, shows, and series, their diary notes revealed.

"For the past few days, they had been denied access to a mobile phone, a restriction that appeared to have affected them," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Nimish Patel.

Visuals from their home revealed more jottings on a wall in the girls' bedroom, like "I am very very alone" and "make me a hert of broken (sic)".

"It is clear that the girls were influenced by Korean culture and have mentioned it in the suicide note," said senior police officer Nimish Patel.

The sisters did everything together, including bathing and eating.

Their phone addiction reportedly began during the Covid-19 pandemic. Afterwards, they became irregular in school and finally stopped going altogether.

According to the police, Chetan Kumar married two sisters and lives with both wives and their children, all daughters. Two of the girls who died were daughters of one wife and the third was their half-sister.

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