Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: An 18-year-old youth’s inability to keep up with monthly instalments for an iPhone reportedly triggered a family dispute that ended with his death and that of both his parents at a hill in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district on Friday.
According to police, Kunal had purchased the phone but later sought financial help from his family to pay the monthly instalments. A disagreement over the latest payment allegedly escalated, following which he left home and climbed a hill near Tisgaon, an area under the Waluj MIDC police station.
The incident began around 10 am. Kunal stood near the edge of a cliff and threatened to jump as his parents, villagers and police officers tried to persuade him to come down.
Videos recorded by people at the site captured parts of the nearly three-hour standoff. In one video, a man can be heard telling the teenager, “Live for your mother.”
Kunal replied, “No, I have to die. That remains the only way.”
Offers Fail To End Tense Standoff
Sanjay Jadhav, a former sarpanch of Tisgaon, was among the people who tried to persuade Kunal to step away from the edge of the cliff. Some of those present reportedly offered to arrange an iPhone 15 Pro for him, as reported by NDTV.
Jadhav said the people at the spot repeatedly reminded Kunal of his mother and urged him not to take the extreme step.
“We pleaded with him a lot, that he should look at his mother, that he shouldn’t jump, that he was educated and had a future ahead of him. We made every appeal we could,” Jadhav said.
However, Jadhav said Kunal continued to shrug his shoulders and insist that death was the only way out.
The teenager’s parents had followed him to the hill after he left home. Local residents and officials joined them in the effort to bring him back safely.
Father & Son Fall Into Gorge
Around 1 pm, after hours of unsuccessful negotiations, Kunal’s father, Murlidhar Chandgude, climbed up to the spot where his son was standing.
Police said Murlidhar tried to pull Kunal away from the cliff. During the attempt, the two lost their balance and plunged into the gorge below.
Kunal’s mother, Sangeeta, witnessed the fall and jumped from the hill moments later, officials said. All three died on the spot.
Police recovered the bodies and sent them for postmortem examinations. A case has been registered, while further legal proceedings are in progress.
Probe Focuses On Family Dispute
The incident drew a crowd of local residents and tourists, many of whom filmed the incident.It was not immediately known why a safety net could not be arranged despite the presence of police and fire department personnel.
The police have not disclosed additional details about the dispute over the phone instalments. They are also yet to establish whether Kunal was suffering from depression, as had been suggested in initial reports.
