Last Updated on September 6, 2026 by YeJahan
Driven by a father’s silent devotion, a truck driver spent months on the road to fulfill his 19-year-old only son’s desperate wish for an iPhone. Though the premium device was far beyond his modest means, he took on the heavy burden of an EMI installment plan, exhausting himself with relentless, extra shifts just to keep the monthly payments afloat. Beside him, a worried mother tried in vain to persuade their son to let go of the consuming obsession, pleading for reality over a status symbol. Yet, despite the father’s grueling sacrifices, the financial strain deepened, triggering a fragile chain of events that ultimately culminated in the heartbreaking, unimaginable loss of the entire family.
Teen ended life over iPhone dispute with parents in Maharashtra, India. The father had bought the phone on EMI, but could not avert the tragedy that engulfed the entire family.
The tragic event unfolded in the historic city of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in the Indian state of Maharashtra this month.
Muralidhar, who belonged to a poor family, worked as a truck driver and would spend months away from home on the roads just to give his family, and especially his son, a better life.
The father wanted his only son, 19-year-old Kunal, to study in a good school and get the opportunities that Muralidhar himself never had. Kunal, who was given everything his father could afford, one day came home from school and started demanding an iPhone 15 Pro.
Both his mother and father got upset by the temper tantrum he threw and tried to get him to understand their financial position, but Kunal kept crying and insisting on getting that phone. His father somehow managed to buy him the phone on installments (EMI), but paying off those monthly installments became increasingly difficult for Muralidhar. The truck driver left no stone unturned, but a couple of installments were skipped, prompting the seller to lock some of the features of the phone. That situation made Kunal furious, and he decided to go to extremes.
On August 21, the young lad got into an altercation with his parents on the cellphone issue, and then got up, saying he was going to end his life. He went to Khawadya Hill in Tisgaon at around 10:00 a.m., where he stood at the very edge of the hill. The whole situation created a scene as police, the fire brigade, villagers, and the chieftain of the village also reached there to dissuade him from taking any drastic action and to take measures to save his life. They all tried to convince the boy, but he kept saying, “I have to die.”
🇮🇳 19-year-old Kunal Chandgude was so distraught after an argument with his family he jumped from Khavdya Hill, India, into a quarry
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) August 21, 2026
His father tried to grab him, but was pulled over the edge with him when he fell
His mother was so shocked she jumped to her death seconds later…
The chieftain even told him that he would provide him with whatever he wanted, but the boy did not listen to him either.
The standoff stretched for three hours. Whoever tried to persuade Kunal to abandon his approach, the answer was the same: “I have to die. That remains the only way.”
After 1:00 p.m., Muralidhar slowly approached his son. He pleaded with him to step away from the edge, and suddenly grabbed Kunal’s hands in order to pull him back to safety, but the teenager forcefully moved back, causing himself and his father to fall off the cliff.
Although rescue personnel were prepared with a safety net at the foothill, they were unable to move it in time as they struggled to anticipate the spot where the teen might land after the fall.
The mother, Sangeeta, who was witnessing the horrific sight, could not control her emotions and jumped after them as well. All three lost their lives on the spot.
It took only a few minutes to destroy a family that had spent decades surviving the hardest of times. All because a young boy couldn’t let go of a material craze his parents couldn’t afford. A father’s hope of seeing his son succeed, and a mother’s dream of watching him grow up and get married, vanished off the edge of a cliff.
