New Delhi: Kunal Chandwade called his mother Friday afternoon from Khavda hills, a few kilometres from his residence in Maharashtra’s Sambhajinagar. The 18-year-old told her that he was determined to end his life. What followed was a tragedy, videos of which have since flooded social media platforms.
But contrary to initial speculation that the incident took place due to the teenager’s unfulfilled demands for an iPhone, a police probe has now found that the incident was a result of familial disputes that had been ongoing for the past three months.
Explaining what the police suspect might have transpired, a senior officer aware of the matter told ThePrint, “He (Kunal) reached the spot (on Friday afternoon) and immediately dialled his mother’s number, informing that he is determined to end his life.”
At about 10 AM, his parents Murlidhar and Sangeeta reached the spot, desperately looking for him, the police said. “They began searching for him around 10 AM and chased him through the terrains trying to reason with him. Then Kunal climbed the cliff and began to move towards the edge when his father tried to pull him away,” the officer added.
It was around 12:30 PM when Murlidhar tried pulling Kunal away, but the two lost their balance and fell off the cliff, said the officer, adding, “Eyewitnesses said that in a couple of seconds, heartbroken the mother too jumped off.”
The video of the incident was viral on all social media platforms alongside claims that Kunal jumped to his death because his father refused to buy him an iPhone.
Days later, another video surfaced where Sangeeta’s sister urged people to not fall for rumours or share such videos. “Nobody knows what our family is going through, so please spare us from such videos made in bad taste. The young boy, his father, and mother were part of our family, and we lost all three in one day; please allow us to process this loss,” she said in a purported video.
ThePrint could not independently verify the video.
Meanwhile, the police have rejected claims that the teenager climbed up the cliff after not being able to buy an iPhone. “This is completely incorrect. The family had been having disputes for the past three months,” said the officer quoted earlier.
According to the preliminary probe, Murlidhar and Sangeeta got married despite objections from Murlidhar’s family. “Murlidhar moved from his residence in Jalna district to Sambhajinagar and stopped speaking to his parents and sister. However, in the past three months he had begun speaking to them. This caused a rift between the couple,” said the officer.
Murlidhar’s family, the officer added, had not supported their wedding as Sangeeta was a relative of Murlidhar’s sister’s in-laws. “For the past few months Murlidhar had begun speaking to them and visiting them. This had caused a rift in their relationship and to the tune that he had not been coming home after work.”
The father, who earned his living as a driver, would not return home after long work trips and had just gotten home the night before the three died in the accident.
The police at present have questioned at least 10 people including eyewitnesses, neighbours and relatives. No FIR has been registered yet, the officer added.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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