Ghaziabad: Loud noise, and then screams, jolts neighbours

Residents said the girls appeared to have jumped from the middle of three sliding glass window panes in the apartment

Residents of a high-rise society here were jolted awake around 2am on Wednesday by a crashing thud followed by screams, only to discover three teenage sisters – aged 11, 14, and 16 years – lying lifeless after a nine-floor fall, as their distraught parents argued amid the unfolding tragedy.

Arun Kumar, who lives on the 10th floor of Tower A4, said he was on his balcony recording content for social media, when he noticed unusual movement in a flat across from him. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

One resident of an adjacent tower told HT that he witnessed the final moments of what police are treating as an apparent triple suicide. Arun Kumar, who lives on the 10th floor of Tower A4, said he was on his balcony recording content for social media, when he noticed unusual movement in a flat across from him.

“There was light fog, and the visibility wasn’t very clear. I just saw figures near the window. I couldn’t even make out whether it was a man or a woman,” Kumar said. “I saw one person sitting on the edge and another holding that person. At that moment, I didn’t really understand what was happening.”

But the situation became clearer a few seconds later, he said. “I now realise it was three girls. One was sitting on the window ledge. Another was holding her, and the third was trying to pull both of them inside. It looked like they were trying to stop her,” he said.

For a brief moment, he said, it appeared as though the crisis had passed. “The girl on the edge moved back inside the room,” he said. “But then she suddenly pulled herself out again. In that moment, the other two also lost balance and were dragged out with her,” Kumar said. “All three fell together. There was a massive noise.”

He said he called the police immediately and rushed downstairs with his wife and sister-in-law. By the time they reached the ground floor, the girls were already lifeless.

Two women – the mothers of the girls – were crying uncontrollably, while the father stood nearby, distraught and angry, Kumar said. “I heard the mother saying, ‘How can you scold the children so much?’ And the father shouting back, ‘Why couldn’t you take care of them?’”

Residents said the girls appeared to have jumped from the middle of three sliding glass window panes in the apartment. Others in the complex said they were drawn out of their homes by the sound of the fall.

“I heard a loud thud, and then wailing,” said Kumar Onkareshwar, who lives in a nearby tower. “Everyone rushed out. I later went to the flat from where they jumped. The police had broken the door open.” Inside the room, he said, officers found family photographs scattered on the floor and a handwritten suicide note in a pocket-sized diary. “One line written there said, ‘Will you stop us from going to Korea?’” Onkareshwar said.

Prashant Singh, a resident of Tower B3, said: “Like others, I heard the scream and ran out. I saw three girls lying dead. Their father came running down and started shouting at one of the women. Then both women began arguing. It was horrifying,” he said.

Residents described the girls as reclusive and said they rarely interacted with others in the society. “I had seen the man a few times, but the girls hardly ever came out to play,” Singh said. “Sometimes, I saw them going for walks at night.”

Rahul Kumar Jha, joint secretary of the RWA, said he had seen the girls playing just hours before the incident. “We knew they liked Korean music and culture. They listened to K-pop songs all the time… They stuck together, and didn’t speak much to anyone else. I don’t think they were attending school.”

Another resident, RK Singhania, said he once invited the girls to participate in a Janmashtami celebration. “They declined and said they weren’t interested. They mostly kept to themselves,” he said.

Charan Singh, the tower’s security guard, said the middle sister appeared to be the dominant figure among them. “The elder and younger sisters called her their leader,” he said. “I often saw them sharing a phone, listening to songs… They rarely stepped out.”

As dawn broke, residents gathered silently at the park facing the tower while police cordoned off the area where the girls had fallen.

Deputy commissioner of police (trans-Hindon zone) Nimish Patil said eyewitness accounts would form a crucial part of the investigation. “At present, it appears to be a case of suicide, with no signs of foul play… The room was locked from inside and had to be broken open. The suicide note has been recovered and will be sent for forensic examination.”