Is India Missing The Real Crisis? How Isolation, Social Neglect, And Emotional Silence Shadow The Ghaziabad Triple Death

Last Updated:February 12, 2026, 08:00 IST

“Death is better than your beatings.” The Ghaziabad sisters’ diary shifts focus from online obsession to emotional neglect and life inside four walls.

An 8-page diary and the words “I am very alone” on the wall, was the Ghaziabad tragedy about screens, or a silent cry for help no one heard? (Image-AI)

Three sisters allegedly jumped from a ninth-floor flat in Ghaziabad, leaving behind an eight-page diary that suggests their deaths were rooted not in screens, but in silence, isolation, emotional neglect, and unheard pain.

At a glance, the Ghaziabad triple suicide has been framed as a cautionary tale about online addiction, K-pop, Korean dramas and the perils of screen time. But behind the sensational headlines lies a far more complex and disturbing scene of isolation and social disconnection and emotional neglect.

The eight-page diary recovered from the room documents loneliness, resentment, and a desperate plea to be heard. The question is no longer what the girls watched or played but what they were missing.

The Korean Angle And A Simplified Narrative

Inside the locked room, investigators found no signs of forced entry. What they did find was an eight-page diary, a one-page suicide note addressed to their father, and walls scribbled with aching declarations. “I am very, very alone.” “My life is very, very alone.” “Make me a heart of broken.”

The girls, Nishika, Prachi and Pakhi, half-siblings living with their father, Chetan Kumar, his three wives (who are biological sisters), and other family members, had reportedly not attended school since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Financial strain had deepened within the household. They did not play with children in the housing society. Their father attributed the tragedy to an intense addiction to Korean content.

“They listened to Korean music, watched Korean films, dramas, web series and cartoons. They also wanted to go to Korea,” he told reporters. He said he had taken away their phones because their “eyes were swollen,” and questioned, “Is taking your child’s phone away a sin?”

The diary revealed attachment to K-pop and Korean dramas. The sisters referred to themselves by fictional names, Maria, Aliza and Cindy, appearing to construct an alternate universe where they felt understood. The girls wrote, “Death Is Better Than Your Beatings, That Is Why We Are Committing Suicide.”

Emotional Escape Or Emotional Starvation?

Excessive technology use is often a symptom rather than the root cause, explains Dr Neetu Tiwari, MBBS, MD Psychiatry, Senior Resident at NIIMS Medical College & Hospital, Greater Noida.

According to Tiwari, “Excessive technology use is typically a coping mechanism rather than the underlying cause of the issue in the first place. The issue of technology addiction, in many cases, stems from feelings of loneliness, not having been heard, or feeling emotionally disconnected within the family.”

Digital immersion can provide instant validation and a sense of belonging that may be missing at home, she says.

“The need for instant validation, diversion, and connection can be fulfilled by technology, which is an emotional escape rather than an addiction. The underlying reason for the problem may be related to issues of feeling isolated or invisible within the family setting, where technology represents the sole comfort outlet.”

The Silent Damage Of Emotional Neglect

The repeated references to loneliness in the girls’ diary raise a difficult question: What happens when emotional neglect exists without visible abuse? Dr Tiwari describes emotional neglect as “a chronic lack of emotional responsiveness.”

“It erodes self-worth and affects emotional development over time,” she explains. “Unlike physical abuse, neglect does not leave bruises on the body, but it silently undermines a person’s inner stability.”

She adds that its most dangerous impact is internalised invalidation: “An internalised belief, ‘my feelings don’t matter’, increases vulnerability to hopelessness and suicidal thinking.”

In many households, this dynamic may be normalised unintentionally. “Innumerable Indian families unknowingly cultivate emotional neglect as a cultural norm,” Dr Tiwari says.

“Parents believe that providing financially secure, well-educated, and safe environments is enough. Emotionally charged discussions are avoided. Success and discipline are prioritised over emotional expression.”

Locked Inside Four Walls

The sisters had reportedly stopped attending school after the pandemic due to financial constraints. School closures during COVID-19 disrupted millions of Indian children’s social ecosystems. For some, those disruptions became permanent.

Being confined to a “four-walled room” for years, cut off from peers, teachers and structured routine can significantly impact mental health. Adolescence is a developmental stage where identity formation depends heavily on external validation and peer interaction.

What The Data Say

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2022 report, “family problems” accounted for 25% of suicides, “love affairs” for 15%, and “failure in examination” for 11%.

However, experts caution that the NCRB reduces each suicide to a single cause, failing to capture the complex interplay of emotional, familial and socioeconomic factors.

National data support the reality of youth suicide. India loses one child to suicide every hour. Since 2020, over 10000 children under 18 have died by suicide annually.

Science Chronicle reported that 55% of suicides under 18 are among girls, citing higher incidences of sexual assault, unwanted marriage, and limited emotional support as contributing factors.

The Warning Signs That Go Unseen

The writings on the Ghaziabad apartment walls, “I am very alone,” may have been a visible distress signal. Dr Tiwari lists common signs families often overlook:

“Over-withdrawal into devices, emotional flattening, reduced talking, loss of interest, irritability, or repeated statements such as ‘No one understands me.’” One particularly concerning sign, she notes, is emotional resignation.

“When a child stops showing anger or begging for attention, families believe silence is maturity. In fact, it often reflects emotional resignation and great internal distress.”

In the Ghaziabad case, the girls appeared to withdraw socially, interacting little with neighbours, rarely stepping outside, and living almost exclusively in each other’s company.

Financial Strain And A Complicated Family Structure

Investigators have also pointed to financial debt within the household. The family structure itself was unusual: three wives, who are biological sisters, living together under one roof.

Police also revealed that in 2015, Kumar’s live-in partner died after falling from a roof, a case later dismissed as suicide.

While no direct link has been established, cumulative stressors, financial instability, complex interpersonal dynamics, restricted schooling, and digital isolation create a volatile psychological ecosystem.

Youth suicide in India is linked to academic pressure, untreated depression and anxiety, domestic conflict, gender-based violence, discrimination and economic uncertainty. To isolate one trigger is to misunderstand the tragedy.

The Sentence That Demands Reflection

Among all the lines in the diary, one stands out with unbearable clarity: “Death is better than your beatings.” The statement signals inescapability. Whether this refers to literal physical punishment or emotional harshness, suicide often emerges not from a desire to die, but from a desire to escape from intolerable pain.

When adolescents feel unheard or dismissed, and their external world shrinks to a single room, even imagined futures can begin to collapse. This case is not merely about K-pop, gaming or cultural rebellion; it is about what happens when loneliness festers in silence. It is about children living in crowded homes yet feeling profoundly alone.

The Ghaziabad tragedy demands that families look beyond screens and into conversations, beyond discipline and into dialogue, and beyond provision and into presence.

The eight-page diary recovered from the room documents loneliness, resentment, and a desperate plea to be heard. The question is no longer what the girls watched or played but what they were missing.

The Korean Angle And A Simplified Narrative

Inside the locked room, investigators found no signs of forced entry. What they did find was an eight-page diary, a one-page suicide note addressed to their father, and walls scribbled with aching declarations. “I am very, very alone.” “My life is very, very alone.” “Make me a heart of broken.”

The girls, Nishika, Prachi and Pakhi, half-siblings living with their father, Chetan Kumar, his three wives (who are biological sisters), and other family members, had reportedly not attended school since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Financial strain had deepened within the household. They did not play with children in the housing society. Their father attributed the tragedy to an intense addiction to Korean content.

“They listened to Korean music, watched Korean films, dramas, web series and cartoons. They also wanted to go to Korea,” he told reporters. He said he had taken away their phones because their “eyes were swollen,” and questioned, “Is taking your child’s phone away a sin?”

The diary revealed attachment to K-pop and Korean dramas. The sisters referred to themselves by fictional names, Maria, Aliza and Cindy, appearing to construct an alternate universe where they felt understood. The girls wrote, “Death Is Better Than Your Beatings, That Is Why We Are Committing Suicide.”

Emotional Escape Or Emotional Starvation?

Excessive technology use is often a symptom rather than the root cause, explains Dr Neetu Tiwari, MBBS, MD Psychiatry, Senior Resident at NIIMS Medical College & Hospital, Greater Noida.

According to Tiwari, “Excessive technology use is typically a coping mechanism rather than the underlying cause of the issue in the first place. The issue of technology addiction, in many cases, stems from feelings of loneliness, not having been heard, or feeling emotionally disconnected within the family.”

Digital immersion can provide instant validation and a sense of belonging that may be missing at home, she says.

“The need for instant validation, diversion, and connection can be fulfilled by technology, which is an emotional escape rather than an addiction. The underlying reason for the problem may be related to issues of feeling isolated or invisible within the family setting, where technology represents the sole comfort outlet.”

The Silent Damage Of Emotional Neglect

The repeated references to loneliness in the girls’ diary raise a difficult question: What happens when emotional neglect exists without visible abuse? Dr Tiwari describes emotional neglect as “a chronic lack of emotional responsiveness.”

“It erodes self-worth and affects emotional development over time,” she explains. “Unlike physical abuse, neglect does not leave bruises on the body, but it silently undermines a person’s inner stability.”

She adds that its most dangerous impact is internalised invalidation: “An internalised belief, ‘my feelings don’t matter’, increases vulnerability to hopelessness and suicidal thinking.”
In many households, this dynamic may be normalised unintentionally. “Innumerable Indian families unknowingly cultivate emotional neglect as a cultural norm,” Dr Tiwari says.

“Parents believe that providing financially secure, well-educated, and safe environments is enough. Emotionally charged discussions are avoided. Success and discipline are prioritised over emotional expression.”

Locked Inside Four Walls

The sisters had reportedly stopped attending school after the pandemic due to financial constraints. School closures during COVID-19 disrupted millions of Indian children’s social ecosystems. For some, those disruptions became permanent.

Being confined to a “four-walled room” for years, cut off from peers, teachers and structured routine can significantly impact mental health. Adolescence is a developmental stage where identity formation depends heavily on external validation and peer interaction.

What The Data Say

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2022 report, “family problems” accounted for 25% of suicides, “love affairs” for 15%, and “failure in examination” for 11%.

However, experts caution that the NCRB reduces each suicide to a single cause, failing to capture the complex interplay of emotional, familial and socioeconomic factors.
National data support the reality of youth suicide. India loses one child to suicide every hour. Since 2020, over 10000 children under 18 have died by suicide annually.

Science Chronicle reported that 55% of suicides under 18 are among girls, citing higher incidences of sexual assault, unwanted marriage, and limited emotional support as contributing factors.

The Warning Signs That Go Unseen

The writings on the Ghaziabad apartment walls, “I am very alone,” may have been a visible distress signal. Dr Tiwari lists common signs families often overlook:

“Over-withdrawal into devices, emotional flattening, reduced talking, loss of interest, irritability, or repeated statements such as ‘No one understands me.’” One particularly concerning sign, she notes, is emotional resignation.

“When a child stops showing anger or begging for attention, families believe silence is maturity. In fact, it often reflects emotional resignation and great internal distress.”
In the Ghaziabad case, the girls appeared to withdraw socially, interacting little with neighbours, rarely stepping outside, and living almost exclusively in each other’s company.

Financial Strain And A Complicated Family Structure

Investigators have also pointed to financial debt within the household. The family structure itself was unusual: three wives, who are biological sisters, living together under one roof.
Police also revealed that in 2015, Kumar’s live-in partner died after falling from a roof, a case later dismissed as suicide.

While no direct link has been established, cumulative stressors, financial instability, complex interpersonal dynamics, restricted schooling, and digital isolation create a volatile psychological ecosystem.

Youth suicide in India is linked to academic pressure, untreated depression and anxiety, domestic conflict, gender-based violence, discrimination and economic uncertainty. To isolate one trigger is to misunderstand the tragedy.

The Sentence That Demands Reflection

Among all the lines in the diary, one stands out with unbearable clarity: “Death is better than your beatings.” The statement signals inescapability. Whether this refers to literal physical punishment or emotional harshness, suicide often emerges not from a desire to die, but from a desire to escape from intolerable pain.

When adolescents feel unheard or dismissed, and their external world shrinks to a single room, even imagined futures can begin to collapse. This case is not merely about K-pop, gaming or cultural rebellion; it is about what happens when loneliness festers in silence. It is about children living in crowded homes yet feeling profoundly alone.

The Ghaziabad tragedy demands that families look beyond screens and into conversations, beyond discipline and into dialogue, and beyond provision and into presence.

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