Korean Love Game at centre of Ghaziabad sisters' deaths as more shocking details emerge

A Korean task-based interactive game has come under scrutiny after three sisters jumped to their deaths on early Wednesday, 3 February, morning. Their father, who was sleeping at that time, mentioned a game – reportedly called 'Korean love game' named ‘We are not Indians’ – that the girls had been playing for two-and-a-half to three years, which reportedly involved “tasks”, bringing memories of the infamous Blue Whale game.

According to an India Today report citing police sources, the girls’ father, Chetan Kumar, had objected to them —aged 12, 14 and 16— playing online games, following which the children allegedly jumped from their building. The father has told the police that he was not aware of his kids playing a Korean game that involved ‘tasks’.

But, he said, his daughters repeatedly mentioned that they wanted to go to Korea.

“They had been playing the game for two-and-a-half to three years. They often said they wanted to go to Korea. I did not know that this game involved such tasks. I came to know about all this only after the police forensic team examined their mobile phones,” Chetan Kumar said.

‘That’s why we are committing suicide'

Recounting the sequence of events, the father of the girls said the family was asleep at the time.

“My wife was sleeping in the inner room. The girls woke up on the pretext of drinking water, bolted the door from inside and jumped from the balcony,” he said. Chetan Kumar mentioned that they had mobile phones with them, but he did not notice them, PTI reported.

"They threw the phones outside the room. The police later seized them for investigation," he added.

The police received information around 2.15 AM that three girls had jumped off the balcony of a ninth-floor flat in a tower of Bharat City under the Teela Mor police station limits in the Sahibabad area. On reaching, the police found the three girls and rushed them to a hospital where they were declared dead.

At home, a suicide note was found, which reportedly mentioned: “A true life story. Is diary mein jo kuch bhi likha hain, woh sab padh lo, kyunki ye sab sach hain [Whatever is written in this diary, read it, because it is all true] I am really sorry. Sorry papa.” This was followed by a crying emoji.

Another note mentioned: “Sorry papa, we cannot leave Korea. Korea is our life, and you cannot make us leave it. That's why we are committing suicide.”

The ‘Korean Love Game’

He recalled that one of his daughters, Prachi, had once told him she was the 'boss' and that her sisters followed her directions. Chetan said, “I thought it was just like the games we played in childhood. I never imagined this could happen.”

Police stated that the sisters were “influenced” by Korean content and had developed a strong "addiction" to both mobile phone use and an online Korean task-based interactive game, the news agency mentioned.

The police said the exact circumstances leading to the incident are still being investigated, and statements of family members are being recorded. While influence of the Korean game has not been ruled out, the police are also investigating the financial situation of the family.

According to an NDTV report, the father of the girls was under ₹2 crore debt. He had recently sold off the girls' phones to pay the electricity bill and had not bothered to send them to school after the Covid-10 pandemic waned.

(With PTI inputs)