After Ghaziabad sisters’ deaths, father’s live-in partner’s 2015 suicide draws attention

Days after three minor sisters jumped to their deaths in Ghaziabad, police on Saturday confirmed that their father, Chetan Kumar, had been linked to an earlier suicide case in 2015 involving his live-in partner, a detail investigators say is being examined as part of the ongoing probe.

Senior officials stressed that while the earlier case forms part of the background being looked at, there is currently no evidence to suggest a direct connection between the two incidents.

2015 case closed as suicide

DCP (Trans Hindon) Nimish Patil said Kumar’s live-in partner died in 2015 after falling from the roof of a flat in Rajendra Nagar Colony under the Sahibabad police station area.

“The death was initially treated as suspicious but was later declared a suicide after investigation,” Patil told PTI. He reiterated that no link has so far emerged between the 2015 death and the deaths of the three sisters.

Family circumstances under examination

Police sources said questioning of relatives revealed a complex family structure. Kumar has three wives — Sujata, Heena and Tina — who are biological sisters.

According to sources, Sujata is the mother of Nishika, while Heena is the mother of Prachi and Pakhi. Investigators are examining whether the domestic environment or family dynamics may have had any bearing on the mental health of the children.

Suicide note addressed to father

Officials said a suicide note recovered from the room of the girls indicated that they were emotionally closer to their father than to their mothers.

“The girls addressed their father in the note and did not mention their mothers,” a senior officer said. A nine-page pocket diary was also recovered and has been seized for forensic examination.

Mobile phones confiscated before incident

Police reiterated that the sisters were distressed after their father confiscated their mobile phones, citing excessive use of Korean applications, online games and interactions with foreign contacts.

Investigators said Kumar later sold the phones. On the night of the incident, the girls allegedly used their mother’s phone but were unable to access the Korean applications. Forensic examination found no trace of those apps on the device, Patil said.

Cyber and forensic teams probe evidence

Cyber crime teams are tracing the buyers of the sold phones through IMEI numbers to retrieve possible digital evidence. Fingerprints, the suicide note and handwritten material have been sent to the forensic science laboratory, and reports are awaited.

“We are probing the case from all possible angles and verifying all claims,” Patil said.

Women’s panel flags concerns

Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Women chairperson Babita Singh, who visited the family on Saturday, said preliminary observations pointed to excessive academic pressure and parental negligence.

“The mental state of the children was not understood at the right time,” she said, adding that the commission has sought a detailed report from the district administration and police.

Deaths treated as suicide

Police said the deaths of Nishika (16), Prachi (14) and Pakhi (12), who jumped from the ninth floor of their residential tower in Bharat City Society under the Trans Hindon police station area earlier this week, are being treated as suicide.

Officials said further action would be taken after the forensic and cyber analysis reports are received.