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A dispute over an iPhone installment took its toll on the whole family, with parents and son falling off a cliff

Samira Vishwas | August 22, 2026 11:24 AM CST

Three members of a family died in a tragic incident in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Friday. A young man named Kunal Chandgude and his parents Muralidhar and Sangeeta Chandgude fell down a hill into a deep ravine and died. According to the police, the incident took place due to a family dispute over iPhone EMI payments.

Police said Kunal had bought an iPhone but could not pay its monthly installments. He was demanding money from his family. After a heated argument with his father over the recent EMI payment, an enraged Kunal left home around 10 am and climbed Khawalya (Khavdya) hill in Tisgaon area under Waluj MIDC police station jurisdiction and threatened to commit suicide.

For nearly three hours, locals, former sarpanch Sanjay Jadhav, police and fire brigade personnel tried to convince him. Some even promised to buy him iPhone 15 Pro. In the viral video, people are seen asking him to live for his mother, but Kunal replies, “No, I have to die. This is the only way left.”

Local villagers, police officials and fire department officials gathered at the spot to carry out rescue operations. Firefighters tried to lay a safety net down the hill, but Kunale kept shifting his position on the edge of the cliff, causing their efforts to fail. Around 1 pm, the matter took a new turn when Muralidhar went to explain to his son, but Kunal jumped off the steep hill. Muralidhar tried hard to save him, but lost his balance and fell down the hill too.

Seeing her husband and son dying, Sangeeta also jumped off the hill shortly after, an official said. He added that the police have recovered the bodies.