Teen Dies in Cliff Fall After Argument With Parents Over Cell Phone; Father and Mother Also Killed
A 19-year-old man and his parents died Friday after falling from a hill in western India following an argument over a new cell phone, according to police and local reports.
Kunal Chandgude went up Khawadya Hill in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra, around 10 a.m. on Aug. 21, after a quarrel with his father Murlidhar, 48, and mother Sangita over a payment for the phone he had purchased, The Indian Express, NDTV and Hindustan Times reported, citing a police report.
He stood at the edge of a cliff and threatened to jump. His parents followed him, and police and fire personnel arrived to try to defuse the situation. According to The Indian Express, the officers spent roughly three hours pleading with the teenager to step back and return home with his parents.
Witness Sanjay Jadhav told NDTV: “The parents and others tried very hard to make him understand, but he didn’t listen and kept standing on the edge of the hill. Police officials were also there.”
“The mother kept pleading with him not to jump,” Jadhav recalled.
Shortly after 1 p.m., Murlidhar moved closer to his son in an apparent attempt to pull him away from the edge. At that moment, Kunal jumped, according to The Indian Express and Hindustan Times. His father then fell to his death while trying to save him, and his mother is believed to have jumped after seeing the two fall.
The bodies were recovered and sent for post-mortem examination, officials said.
The case has drawn attention to the family’s earlier tragedy. NDTV reported that the couple had been living separately since their eldest son died from an illness six years ago. Sangita Chandgude, who had more than 30,000 YouTube subscribers, regularly posted mini-vlogs featuring Kunal. The day before the incident, she uploaded a video saying there is “no point in doing anything for a person who does not value love,” according to NDTV.
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar City Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mental health experts in India say such family disputes over material goods, while rarely ending in tragedy, can escalate quickly when underlying grief or emotional strain is left unaddressed. The deaths have renewed local calls for crisis intervention training and better mental health support for young adults in the region.