Because of an iPhone: 18-year-old threatened to commit suicide — and fell into an abyss with his parents
An 18-year-old named Kunal climbed a cliff and threatened to commit suicide following an argument over payments for an iPhone he purchased. For about three hours, his parents and residents tried to convince him to come down, but when the father lunged at his son to pull him from the edge, they both fell. The mother jumped immediately after them.
A tragedy in India: An 18-year-old who fell into debt following the purchase of an iPhone argued with his parents on the edge of a cliff, leading to the death of all three. According to a police report in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in the state of Maharashtra, the heated argument led to the fall of the young man and his father into an abyss, followed by the mother jumping from the top of the cliff.
"Live for your mother," one person told Kunal as he threatened to jump. Kunal replied: "No, I must die. This is the only way." A short time later, his father, Murlidhar Chandagoda, tried to move him away from the edge, but both fell. The mother, Sangita, jumped after them.
"We begged him not to jump"
Sanjay Jadhav, the former village head of Tisgaon, was among those who tried to convince Kunal to move away from the cliff. Those present even promised to buy him an iPhone 15 Pro in exchange for him backing down.
"We begged him a lot. We asked him to look at his mother, not to jump, and we reminded him that he has a whole future ahead of him. We made every appeal we could," recalled Jadhav. Kunal’s reaction throughout the drama amounted to shrugging his shoulders and insisting that death remained his only way.
According to police officials, Kunal had asked his family members for money to pay the monthly installments for his iPhone. A heated argument with his father over the final payment led him to leave the house in anger and climb a hill in the Tisgaon area around 10:00 AM.
His parents followed him, and together with local residents, they tried for almost three hours to convince him to come down. It remains unclear why a safety net was not set up at the site, despite the presence of police and fire services.
Around 1:00 PM, Kunal's father climbed to the spot where his son was standing and tried to physically pull him from the edge. While doing so, they lost their balance and fell into the abyss. Sangita, who witnessed the fall of her husband and son, jumped moments later. The police recovered the bodies and sent them for a post-mortem examination, and an investigation has been opened.
