Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad), Maharashtra Friday, August 21, 2026A family argument over an iPhone ended in tragedy when three members of a family died after falling from a cliff in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.
Kabul 24: According to official accounts and reports from Indian media, 18- or 19-year-old Kunal Murlidhar Chandvade (also reported as Chandgude or Chandwade), his father Murlidhar (about 48), and his mother Sangeeta (about 42) all lost their lives at Khavdya Hill near Tisgaon village.The incident began around 10 a.m. on Friday.
Kunal, upset after a dispute with his parents about an iPhone some reports say he demanded a new one, others that it involved unpaid EMI instalments on a phone he had already bought climbed to the edge of the steep hill and threatened to jump.
His parents, local residents, police and fire brigade personnel spent nearly three hours trying to persuade him to come down. Firefighters prepared a safety net below, but the teenager kept moving along the cliff edge, making rescue efforts difficult.
Around 1 p.m., Kunal fell. His father reached out to grab him and also lost his balance, and both plunged into the gorge below. Moments later, his mother — either overcome by shock or while attempting to help — also fell from the hill.
All three died at the scene.Police have registered a case under provisions for unnatural or suspicious deaths, and post-mortems have been conducted.
District Collector Vinay Gowda and local police confirmed the sequence of events and linked the tragedy to the family dispute over the mobile phone.
The incident has drawn widespread attention in India, prompting discussions about consumer pressure and family tensions.
Reports have been carried by outlets including The Hindu, The Times of India and other national media based on official statements.
