Police in India said they believed three sisters jumped to their deaths because their parents took their phones away – the girls had been obsessed with a Korean mobile game
Three young sisters who jumped to their deaths after their parents took their phones away have been pictured.
Siblings Pakhi, 12, Prachi, 14, and Vishika, 16, threw themselves from the ninth floor of a block of flats before their parents desperately tried to break through a locked balcony door.
The teenagers gathered at their balcony, in Bharat City, Ghaziabad, at around 2am on Wednesday before they tragically jumped one by one. The girls also left a chilling note behind before their tragic deaths which read: “Sorry, Papa”. Screams loud enough to make up neighbours and the parents were heard through the street, but it was too late to save the girls.
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Police in India said they believe the tragedy was linked to the kids’ obsession with a Korean online game. The heartbroken parents discovered an eight-page note in a diary, which reportedly included messages about Korea and the girls’ thoughts that their mum and dad were trying to stop their obsession.
The message said: “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. Now you have seen the proof. Now we are convinced that Korean and K-Pop are our life. We didn’t love you and family as much as we loved the Korean actor and the K-Pop group. Korean was our life.”
Police said the sisters had stopped attending school nearly two years ago and had become “highly addicted” to a mobile game. Their parents had reportedly recently restricted their screen time, which investigators believe may have triggered their fatal jump.
Police said they are examining their phones and diaries to determine the exact nature of the game, which has not been named in press releases.
In the eight-page letter, the girls had also listed other shows, films and culture characters from other countries that they were also obsessed with. These included Peppa PigAriel and Elsa. The Covid pandemic is also said to have intensified the children’s isolation and gaming habits.
In the shocking note, the girls also claimed their parents did not let them bring their gaming obsessions to their fourth sister Devu. The note said: “You introduced her to Bollywood, which we hated more than our lives.”
It added: “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. So, from that day on, we separated Devu from ourselves and told her that we are Korean and K-Pop, and you are Indian and Bollywood.”
Grieving dad 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.”
