iPhone EMI Dispute Ends in Tragedy as Maharashtra Teen, Parents Die on Hill
An argument over iPhone instalments ended in death on Friday in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, where an 18-year-old and his parents fell f...
An argument over iPhone instalments ended in death on Friday in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, where an 18-year-old and his parents fell from a hill and died. Police said the teenager had fought with his family over money for the phone’s monthly EMI before heading to the edge of Khawadya Hill in the Tisgaon area.
The dead were identified as Kunal Chandgude, his father Murlidhar Chandgude, 48, and his mother Sangita. The family’s fatal fall followed a tense scene that drew villagers, police and fire brigade crews to the hill. It was too late. All three were gone.
How the confrontation unfolded
Police said Kunal asked his father, who worked as a driver, for money to pay the latest instalment on the iPhone he had bought. His parents refused. The dispute escalated, and the teenager went up the hill, apparently intending to take his own life.
His parents rushed after him and tried to pull him back. According to reports cited by local media, the father tried to grab the boy as he jumped, and the mother followed. The three fell from the hill. A witness told The Week that Kunal sat near the cliff for hours, from about 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., refusing to move while his parents tried to persuade him to come down.
Then came the plunge.
Rescue teams arrive too late
Villagers, police teams and firefighters soon joined the effort after the alarm was raised. Fire brigade personnel attempted to respond on the hill, but the incident had already turned irreversible. NDTV and other Indian outlets reported that the family died at the scene.
The case has pushed a harsh conversation into public view in India, where small-ticket consumer loans are increasingly used to buy phones and other lifestyle products. Industry data cited by Economic Times’ BFSI desk showed smartphones and home appliances were among the biggest reasons for consumer borrowing in 2025, with more than a third of consumer electronics bought through small loans.
That easy credit has made premium devices feel within reach. It has also brought debt into places it barely touched before. In this case, a monthly payment for an iPhone ended with three deaths on a hill in western India.
