A relative of a family of three who died after falling from a hill in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has strongly objected to claims that an iPhone EMI dispute was behind the tragedy.
Pallavi Patil, sister of Sangeeta Chandgude, called the iPhone story a “rumour” and urged people not to spread claims without knowing what actually happened.
Patil recorded a video message while returning home after collecting the ashes of her sister, nephew Kunal Chandgude and brother-in-law Murlidhar Chandgude. She said the family was already struggling to deal with the loss and that social media videos spreading what she called a false version of events were adding to their pain.
She said Sangeeta was her elder sister and Kunal was her sister’s son. Patil appealed to people to think about her 75-year-old parents before making videos or sharing claims about the deaths.
“You know nothing about us, and you don’t know the truth behind any of this,” Patil said, asking people to stop spreading rumours about the family.
The family had been facing problems
The circumstances surrounding the deaths appear to be more complicated than an argument over an iPhone payment. Murlidhar was a truck driver, while Sangeeta was a homemaker. The couple had lost their elder son to an illness around six years ago.
Sources said the death had led to problems within the family, and Murlidhar and Sangeeta had started living separately. Murlidhar often remained away for work for months. He had returned home after being away for nearly three months, just two days before the incident.
Police are also looking into a video posted by Sangeeta in which she spoke about a property dispute and problems within the family. In the video, she said someone had denied her and her son their rightful share of property and had created divisions between family members. Police are now trying to understand what she meant and are probing the facts of the matter.
Sangeeta’s YouTube videos also under scanner
Sangeeta was active on YouTube and had more than 29,000 subscribers. She regularly posted videos featuring Kunal.
A day before the incident, she uploaded a one-minute Marathi video about relationships. She said people should value those who value them and that a relationship has no meaning when only one person makes an effort. She compared a relationship to a chapati, saying it works when both sides contribute and value each other.
Police also said that Kunal had visited the same hill about a year ago with the intention of dying by suicide. At that time, police officers managed to convince him to step away from the cliff and took him to safety.
What happened on the hill
On 21st August, Kunal, 18, went to Khavlya Hill in the Tisgaon area after a dispute at home. Police said the immediate argument was linked to the EMI payment for an iPhone he had purchased.
His parents followed him after learning that he was threatening to die by suicide. Police, fire brigade personnel and residents spent nearly three hours trying to bring him back. Sanjay Jadhav, a former sarpanch of Tisgaon, was also involved in the effort.
Around 1 pm, Murlidhar reached Kunal and tried to pull him away from the edge. Kunal fell into the gorge, and his father also fell while trying to save him. Sangeeta then jumped from the hill after seeing her husband and son fall. All three died.
Their bodies were later recovered and sent for post-mortem examination.
Viral video fuelled iPhone EMI speculation
The deaths were captured on camera by people at the spot, and videos of the rescue attempt and the family’s final moments later spread widely on social media. The viral footage, along with reports that Kunal was upset over his iPhone EMI, led to widespread speculation that the payment dispute was the reason behind the tragedy.
However, police are examining other family issues as well. The investigation is underway to determine what exactly led to the deaths and whether the iPhone EMI dispute was one of the factors or not behind the tragedy.
