New details have come to light in the tragic deaths of three minor sisters who allegedly jumped to their deaths from a ninth-floor apartment in Ghaziabad, raising troubling questions about their family life and living conditions, which are viewed against the backdrop created by their father.
Pakhi (12), Prachi (14) and Nishika (16) died last Wednesday after jumping from the rooftop of their residential town in Bharat City, which is located in Ghaziabad. Initially, it was suspected that the girls had taken the extreme step because the parents had objected to their "gaming" addiction and confiscated their mobile phones. However, police investigations showed complexity.
Cramped living, multiple marriages
Police say the girls lived in a three-bedroom flat where nine family members, including Chetan Kumar and his three wives, as well as five children, slept in one room. According to the accused, he married three women in the last three years, namely Sujata in 2010, her sister Hina in 2013, and Tina, who converted to Hinduism from Islam in 2023, without divorcing the previous two women.
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"Kumar (the girls' father) has been changing statements. He tried to hide his marriage to Tina initially”, a senior police officer was quoted by NDTV as stating. “The women had apparently consented to the marriages. No one complained," NDTV quoted Assistant Commissioner of Police Atul Kumar Singh as saying.
"He said that he married Hina because Sujata couldn't conceive," ACP Singh further said. However, investigators say this explanation does not align with the ages of his children, particularly the eldest daughter, believed to be 16 at the time of her death. A senior police officer said Kumar has repeatedly changed his statements and initially attempted to hide his marriage to Tina.
Police findings so far
Postmortem reports have confirmed that all three girls died due to head injuries sustained while falling. According to ACP Singh, there were no signs of sexual assault. The mobile phones of these minor girls, one of whom was allegedly sold two weeks before the incident, have reportedly been recovered for forensic analysis to determine the last moments spent by these young girls.
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Moreover, the police recovered a 30-page diary written by the girls themselves, wherein they expressed their frustrations brought about by being deprived access to Korean dramas, K-pop music and online games.
Financial stress and unanswered questions
The police investigators assert that Kumar, who is a stockbroker, owes debts totalling Rs 2 crore. The law enforcement authorities accuse Kumar of selling his daughters' phones to pay electricity bills and keeping them out of school even after the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.
Another aspect under scrutiny is the death of Sujata and Hina’s sister, which occurred in 2018 when the deceased allegedly fell from a balcony while she had visited the family. The case was recorded as accidental and no police complaints were filed in the matter.
The case remains open, with police corroborating statements, forensic evidence and previous incidents related to this family.
