Ghaziabad sisters' suicide echoes father's 2015 live-in partner's death
What's the story
The recent deaths of three minor sisters in Ghaziabad have taken a new turn as police confirmed that their father, Chetan Kumar, was previously linked to a suicide case in 2015. The case involved his live-in partner, who died after falling from the roof of a flat in Rajendra Nagar Colony, India Today reported. "The death was initially treated as suspicious, but later it was declared a suicide after investigation," DCP (Trans Hindon) Nimish Patil told PTI.
Ongoing investigation
Investigators are looking into family dynamics
Patil confirmed that there is no current evidence linking the two cases. However, he said investigators are looking into the family's dynamics and how they may have affected the children's mental health. Kumar currently has three wives, Sujata, Heena, and Tina, who are biological sisters. Sujata is the mother of Nishika, while Heena is the mother of Prachi and Pakhi. Media reports quoting officials have also indicated that Kumar led a financially unstable life.
Emotional distress
Girls emotionally connected to father
A suicide note recovered from the girls' room indicated they were more emotionally connected to their father than their mothers. "The girls addressed their father in the note and did not mention their mothers," an officer said. A nine-page pocket diary was also seized from the room and is now part of the investigation.
Digital divide
Sisters were upset over mobile phone ban
The sisters were reportedly distressed after their father confiscated their mobile phones. Kumar had taken away the phones after noticing excessive use of Korean apps, online games, and foreign friends. He later sold the devices. On the night of the incident, the girls took their mother's phone but couldn't access Korean applications. "Forensic examination found no trace of the Korean app on that device," Patil was quoted as saying.
Ongoing probe
Cyber teams tracing buyers of sold phones
Cyber crime teams are now tracing buyers of the sold phones through IMEI numbers to recover possible digital data. Fingerprints, the suicide note, and handwritten material have been sent to a forensic science laboratory for analysis. "We are probing the case from all possible angles and verifying all claims," Patil reportedly said. Further action will depend on these forensic and cyber analysis reports.
Investigation update
UP State Commission for Women seeks report
Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Women Chairperson Dr Babita Singh visited the family and said preliminary findings pointed to excessive academic pressure and parental negligence. "The mental state of the children was not understood at the right time," she said. The commission has sought a detailed report from the district administration and police. Police continue to treat the sisters' deaths as suicide pending further investigation.