The deaths of three minor sisters in Ghaziabad have drawn national attention to a Korean online “love game” that police say strongly influenced their thoughts and behaviour, according to officials investigating the case.
Police earlier told HT.com that the sisters, aged 16, 14 and 12, were “highly addicted” to an online, task-based Korean game and had begun believing they were “Korean princesses” rather than Indians, a fantasy identity reflected in diary notes recovered from their home.
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According to police accounts, the girls locked themselves inside a puja room after midnight, used a chair to reach a window and jumped one after another from the ninth floor of their apartment building in Ghaziabad’s Sahibabad area, dying on the spot.
Investigators said the diary contained apology notes, sketches and repeated references to Korean culture and the game’s fictional world, suggesting an intense psychological immersion that developed after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Assistant Police Commissioner Atul Kumar Singh said the game followed a task-based format where players assume characters and complete missions, though the exact app is yet to be identified through forensic analysis of the girls’ phones.
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The sisters had been addicted to the Korean interactive “love game” for nearly two to three years, spending most of their time together gaming, while their parents had recently tried to restrict mobile phone use, which may have caused distress, news agency PTI reported.
The girls’ father said he was unaware that the game involved “tasks” and only learned of its nature after police examined the phones, adding that his daughters frequently spoke about wanting to go to Korea, the report added.
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Trans-Hindon DCP Nimish Patil said the suicide note did not name a specific app but clearly showed the minors were influenced by Korean culture, while an eyewitness described seeing one girl jump and the others falling while trying to stop her, as per news agency ANI.
The girls had not attended school regularly since the Covid period and were unwilling to give up the Korean game, which had become central to their lives, another report, by The Times of India, noted.
Police said the investigation is ongoing to determine how online gaming addiction and cultural influence intersected in the tragedy.
(With PTI, ANI inputs)
Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. A few major suicide prevention helpline numbers in India are 011-23389090 from Sumaitri (Delhi-based) and 044-24640050 from Sneha Foundation (Chennai-based).
