Three Teen Sisters Died Jumping Off their Apartment After Parents Took Away Phone Amid Online Game Addiction

A shocking incident has come to the fore in Ghaziabad, a city near New Delhi, where three sisters committed suicide by jumping from the ninth floor of their apartment, police said.

Police identified the girls, aged 16, 14 and 12, and said the incident occurred in the early hours of 4 February 2026, when all of them were found lying in a pool of blood outside a residential tower in Bharat City Society in the Sahibabad area of Ghaziabad in North India.

The deaths have triggered a major investigation into the family's digital devices and personal notes as authorities investigate the role of suspected online gaming, years of obsessive engagement with screens and Korean popular culture.

Incident and Police Response

Shortly before 2.15am on 4 February 2026, residents of Bharat City Society reported a loud sound outside the residential tower, where Police found Nishika (16), Prachi (14) and Pakhi (12) lying dead on the ground.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Atul Kumar Singh confirmed that the three girls had jumped from the balcony and were declared dead on arrival at a hospital in nearby Loni.

Authorities have initiated a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances, including recovery and analysis of digital devices, handwritten materials and family interviews.

Police sources said the sisters locked the door from inside before exiting to the balcony. A diary and several handwritten notes were recovered, together forming what preliminary reports describe as an eight-page suicide note. The note allegedly addressed the girls' parents and referred to their emotional attachment to gaming and Korean culture, saying they could not detach themselves from it.

Suspected Online Gaming Obsession

Initial police inquiries suggest the three sisters had developed a heavy dependence on a Korean task-based interactive online game and were spending increasing amounts of time on it. Officials say their parents had objected to the intensity of this engagement in the days leading up to the incident.

According to the police account, the girls had grown increasingly withdrawn from school and social activities during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. None of the sisters had attended school regularly for the past two to three years, and their academic engagement had deteriorated significantly; the eldest was reportedly still enrolled in Class 4 at 16.

Their father, Chetan Kumar, told authorities he was unaware of the depth of their online attachment and was taken aback by the intensity of their fixation on the game and related Korean cultural content. He said they expressed a persistent desire to go to Korea, reflecting what police characterised as a deep emotional immersion beyond ordinary recreational gaming.

Police are analysing the sisters' mobile phones and digital footprints to determine how the game may have shaped their behaviour and mental state. At this stage, no single game has been publicly confirmed by police, but sources describe it as a task-oriented Korean game to which the girls were highly attached.

Mental Health, Online Addiction and Broader Implications

Mental health specialists say teenage engagement with online games can escalate beyond leisure into patterns that resemble addictive behaviour under certain conditions, particularly when accompanied by social isolation and disrupted routines.

While clinical definitions vary, the American Psychiatric Association recognises Internet Gaming Disorder as a condition for further study in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR).

University-level research suggests that when digital engagement replaces face-to-face interaction and becomes intertwined with identity and emotional regulation, it can heighten vulnerability in adolescents already struggling with stress, isolation or disrupted schooling. Experts emphasise that compulsive gaming is a complex issue related to psychological, social and environmental factors rather than a single cause of self-harm.

Family members and neighbours described the sisters as inseparable, spending much of their time together in their room. Police said the trio ate, bathed, and engaged with digital content together, bonding over shared interests. Such co-dependence, they warn, may intensify pressure and limit opportunities for independent coping.

Suicide prevention authorities stress that self-harm is a multifaceted public health concern. They point out that the presence of digital addiction alone may not explain such extreme actions without recognising depressive symptoms, social isolation, academic disengagement and other stressors that can amplify risk.

The tragedy has sparked shock and grief in the Ghaziabad community. Residents expressed disbelief that three minors could make such a coordinated decision, while mental health advocates have called for enhanced resources for teenagers struggling with digital dependency and emotional distress.