Ghaziabad Schools Shut for MLC Polls as Triple Teen Suicide Spotlights Cultural Crisis

Schools and colleges across Ghaziabad observed a holiday on October 23, 2026, as polling took place for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections across graduate and teacher constituencies in the Meerut Division. The same week, the city drew national attention following the deaths of three teenage sisters whose deep attachment to Korean pop culture intersected with family financial distress, in a case that prompted a broad conversation about identity, digital media, and the mental health of young people in India.

🎓 Ghaziabad schools close for UP Legislative Council elections

Schools and colleges across Ghaziabad and neighbouring Noida observed a holiday on October 23, 2026, as voting took place for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections. The holiday was linked to biennial elections for graduate and teacher constituencies in the Meerut Division, which covers multiple districts. Polling ran from 8 am to 4 pm, covering eleven Legislative Council seats across various districts of Uttar Pradesh. In Ghaziabad, a district-level order mandated a special holiday for government schools, government-aided schools, and recognised private schools, as well as institutions affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, and other recognised boards. Colleges and higher educational institutions were also included in the closure. The holiday covered classes from pre-primary through to Class 12. The closure was intended to support election-day logistics and ensure that eligible voters, including school staff, could exercise their voting rights without disruption. Reports from Noida indicated some variation on whether the entire district would observe the holiday or only eligible voters, and parents were advised to confirm directly with their child's school before making plans. The administration made arrangements for polling across the affected districts to ensure the smooth conduct of the elections. The election involved polling for graduate and teacher constituencies, and the administration had issued instructions ensuring institutional compliance. [2]

Three Ghaziabad sisters die in K-pop fandom tragedy

Three teenage sisters from Ghaziabad — Nishika, Prachi, and Pakhi, aged twelve, fourteen, and sixteen — died on a Wednesday morning after jumping from the ninth floor of their apartment building. The investigation revealed that the girls had developed an intense attachment to Korean popular culture, creating online personas using Korean names, consuming K-dramas obsessively, and following K-pop groups. Their father, struggling under a debt of Rs 2 crore, confiscated and later sold their mobile phones, which cut off the girls from the Korean content that had become central to their sense of identity. Police stated the girls were distressed at being unable to watch Korean content. The suicide note, spread across eight pages of a diary, expressed the depth of their attachment. Korean was our life, the note read, accusing their father of taking away what they loved most. The girls also described themselves as Korean rather than Indian and wrote of being threatened with arranged marriages to Indian men. Investigators clarified there was no evidence of a task-based Korean suicide challenge; instead, Korean cultural attachment had intersected with emotional neglect, poverty, and isolation. The case drew national attention and was compared to an earlier January 2024 incident in Tamil Nadu in which three thirteen-year-old schoolgirls left home with Rs 14,000 in savings, aiming to reach Seoul and meet BTS, travelling by train to Chennai before being found. [7]

Sources: [2] Education Times · [7] NDTV