Three sisters, aged 12, 14 and 16, died after jumping from the ninth floor of their apartment block in Ghaziabad, India, following their parents' decision to take away their phones over an addiction to a Korean online game. The incident occurred at around 2am on Wednesday in the Bharat City area.
The girls, identified as Pakhi (12), Prachi (14) and Vishika (16), left behind an eight-page note that read: 'Sorry, Papa.' Police believe the tragedy was linked to their obsession with the game, which has not been named. The sisters had reportedly stopped attending school nearly two years ago and were described as 'highly addicted' to the mobile game.
In the note, the girls expressed anger at their parents for trying to limit their screen time. They wrote: 'How will you make us leave Korean? Korean was our life, so how dare you make us leave our life? You didn't know how much we loved them.' The note also mentioned other obsessions including Peppa Pig, Ariel and Elsa.
The sisters also wrote about their fourth sister, Devu, whom they had separated from because she preferred Bollywood. The note said: 'We felt bad about this, so we made a decision and made Devu our enemy, because no one at home allowed her to be like us.' The girls' parents attempted to break through the locked balcony door but were unable to save them.
Investigators are examining the girls' phones and diaries to determine the exact nature of the game. The grieving father, Chetan Kumar, said: 'Neither a parent nor a child should experience this. Children shouldn't be allowed to play such games. I would never have allowed them if I had known.'
