Ghaziabad sisters’ deaths revive questions over father’s partner’s 2015 suicide

Days after three minor sisters jumped to their deaths in Ghaziabad, police on Saturday confirmed.

That their father, Chetan Kumar, had previously been linked to a suicide case in 2015 involving his live-in partner, a development investigators say is being examined as part of the broader probe.

Senior police officials said the earlier case is being factored into the investigation as they assess the family’s circumstances and the mental state of the children, while stressing that no direct connection has been established so far.

2015 case closed as suicide: Police

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 after investigation it was declared a suicide,” Patil told PTI. He added that there is currently no evidence linking the 2015 case with the deaths of the three sisters.

Family structure under scrutiny

Police sources said questioning of family members revealed a complex domestic structure. Kumar is married to three women—Sujata, Heena and Tina—who are biological sisters.

According to the sources, Sujata is the mother of Nishika, while Heena is the mother of Prachi and Pakhi. Investigators are examining whether the family environment or domestic dynamics had any impact on the mental well-being of the children.

Suicide note addressed to father

Senior officials said a suicide note recovered from the girls’ room indicated that they were more emotionally attached to their father than to 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 recovered and has been seized for examination.

Mobile phones confiscated

Police reiterated that the sisters had been 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 reportedly used their mother’s phone but were unable to access the Korean applications. A forensic examination found no trace of those apps on the device, Patil said.

Cyber and forensic analysis underway

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

“We are examining the case from all possible angles and verifying every claim,” Patil said.

Women’s panel flags negligence

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 depend on the findings of the forensic and cyber analysis reports.