Triple suicide case: Police record statements of school where girls studied

Following their deaths, the father had claimed that, for the past two and a half years, they had stopped going to school out of shame after they failed

Police have reached out to the school in Ghaziabad where the three half-sisters who allegedly jumped to death from their ninth-floor flat earlier this month used to study and learnt they had stopped attending during the Covid-19 pandemic, contradicting their father’s claim that they had failed.

The school administration told police that the girl studied there for a year, but the examinations could not be held once the pandemic hit. (HT Archive)

The three sisters, aged 11, 14, and 16, allegedly jumped from their ninth-floor flat around 2am on February 4. As part of the inquiry into their deaths, a police team reached out to authorities of the school, located in Shalimar Garden Extension 1.

“Our team traced the school where the girls were admitted in 2018-19,” Atul Kumar Singh, assistant commissioner of police (ACP-Shalimar Garden circle) told HT.

The school administration told police that the girl studied there for a year, but the examinations could not be held once the pandemic hit. “Thereafter, they stopped coming to school and all students were promoted to the higher classes due to Covid-19. The three girls, however, did not attend school thereafter,” said the ACP

Following their deaths, the father had claimed that, for the past two and a half years, they had stopped going to school out of shame after they failed.

School authorities told police that the oldest was admitted to Class 3 on April 16, 2019, the middle one to Class 1 on August 1, 2018; and the youngest was admitted to kindergarten (KG) on May 20, 2019. “Information about the behaviour of the three girls could not be gathered, as teachers employed in 2018-19 were no longer serving with the school,” the ACP said.

Nimish Patil, the deputy commissioner of police (DCP -trans-Hindon zone) told HT that once the girls stopped going to school, the family did not make an effort to continue their education. “This was because of the financial issues they were facing.”

About a fortnight before the incident, the girls were sent to a local private tutor, but the tutor paid back the fees to the family and declined to continue. “This was due to girls’ obsession with the online content and not paying attention to studies,” the DCP added.

Police said that, based on the investigation so far, the girls were deeply immersed in Korean popular culture and spent long hours watching K-dramas, K-pop videos and related online content. They suspect that increasing alienation that they felt with the rest of their family over it, their social isolation from not going to school, and being cut off from their content of choice after their father took away they phones they had could have contributed to the situation.