'Girls were depressed after...': What police said on Ghaziabad sisters' alleged suicide case

Investigators have found that the three sisters who died by suicide in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad were depressed after their father took away their mobile phones days before the incident. As per reports, the father took their phones over their obsession with the Korean culture and later sold the devices. The girls -- aged 16, 14, and 11 years -- died after falling from a window of their flat on the ninth floor in Ghaziabad, an hour's drive from capital Delhi. The incident has renewed serious questions on online gaming addiction and alleged Korean culture craze.

Reportedly, the girls' father had purchased one mobile phone for the 16-year-old about three months ago and another for the 14-year-old a fortnight before the incident. Tensions flared up in the house after the father took away the phones. The girls could no longer play online games, watch Korean dramas, or talk to their Korean friends, news agency PTI reported citing officials. Police said the father likely sold the phones as he was facing financial stress.

On the night of the incident, the sisters reportedly took their mother's phone, but could not access the Korean app they were allegedly addicted to. Police questioning has revealed that the father has three wives, all biological sisters. While one wife is the mother of the 16-year-old, another is the mother of the two younger sisters. Police have maintained that the case is being treated as a suicide, and the investigation is aimed at verifying the father's claims about alleged online gaming addiction. A handwritten suicide note had been found from the scene, which has since been sent to the forensic science laboratory. Police are reportedly awaiting the reports.