The deaths of three teenage sisters in Ghaziabad have drawn national attention to a Korean online “love game” that police say has strongly influenced their thinking and behavior, according to officials investigating the case.
Police are investigating the link between their gaming addiction and their mental state. (AP)Police had earlier told HT.com that the sisters, aged 16, 14 and 12, were “too addicted” to an online, task-based Korean game and started believing they were “Korean princesses” instead of Indians, an imaginary identity reflected in diary notes recovered from their home.
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According to police information, the girls locked themselves inside a puja room after midnight, used a chair to reach a window and jumped one by one from the ninth floor of their apartment building in Ghaziabad’s Sahibad area and died on the spot.
Investigators said the diaries contained apologetic notes, sketches and repeated references to the fictional world of Korean culture and games, suggesting an intense psychological immersion that developed after the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Assistant Commissioner of Police Atul Kumar Singh said the game follows a task-based format where players guess the character and complete the mission, 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 about two to three years, spending most of their time gaming together, while their parents recently tried to limit mobile phone use, which could cause irritation, news agency PTI reported.
The girl’s father said he did not know the game involved “deeds” and learned about its nature only after police checked the phones, adding that his daughters often talked 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 that the minors were influenced by Korean culture, while an eyewitness described a girl jumping and others falling as they tried to stop her, news agency ANI reported.
The girls have not attended school regularly since the Covid period and were unwilling to give up the Korean game, which had become the focus of their lives, another report in The Times of India noted.
Police said an investigation is underway to determine how online gaming addiction and cultural influences intersected in the tragedy.
(with PTI, ANI input)
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Discussing suicide can be a trigger for some. But suicide is preventable. Some of the major suicide prevention helpline numbers in India are 011-23389090 from Sumaitri (Delhi-based) and 044-24640050 from Sneha Foundation (Chennai-based).
