India Cliff Tragedy: Family Did Not Die Over a Denied iPhone, Police Say

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When a video of a family’s last moments on a cliff edge began racing through Sri Lankan feeds, it carried a devastating caption: an Indian teenager had jumped to his death because his parents refused to buy him an iPhone, and they fell to their deaths trying to save him. The clip had already gone viral across Indian social media before it crossed into Sinhala-language posts, and its raw, harrowing footage made the story spread fast and mostly unquestioned. Here are the posts that carried it.

Social Media Posts

Viewer discretion is advised: the footage shown in this section shows distressing scenes.

Facebook

The same video, claiming an iPhone had wiped out an entire family, kept circulating with near-identical captions and screenshots posted side by side.

Fact Check

In the viral video, a young man stands atop a cliff with several people nearby, after a while two people fall and then a third falls moments later. Because the incident was said to have happened in India, we set out to verify whether it took place and how India’s mainstream media and credible official sources reported it.

Early Reports Blamed an iPhone Installment Dispute

On Friday, August 21, 2026, three members of one family, 18-year-old Kunal Chandgude, his father Murlidhar, and his mother Sangeeta, died after falling from the Khavdya Dongar cliff in the Tisgaon area of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, Maharashtra, India.

Initial mainstream reports tied the deaths to an argument between Kunal and his father over unpaid iPhone installment payments, which reportedly escalated and drove his decision. Those early reports are available here.

Police Investigation Pointed to Family Conflict, Not a Phone

Later reporting by the Times of India and other major outlets, citing police statements, found the real cause was not an iPhone dispute but long-standing conflict and discord between the mother and father. Those reports are available here and here.

At around 10 a.m. on August 21, Kunal called his parents to say he was going to the cliff to end his life. His parents, a family friend, and police rushed to the scene and spent about two hours trying to talk him down. Just as he appeared to relent and agree to come back, his father Murlidhar approached from behind to pull him to safety. Kunal lost his balance and fell, and his father, still holding on, fell with him. Moments later his mother also went over the cliff. All three died at the scene.

According to media reports, the mother, Sangeeta Murlidhar Chandgude, was deeply distressed at seeing her son defy her wishes. She even removed her Mangal sutra, considered the most sacred symbol of marriage for a woman in Indian culture, and told her son that she would leaving her husband to stand by him instead.

Reports also noted that both Kunal and his mother already owned iPhones at the time. Police were investigating whether the phones were bought on installment plans and whether any payment issues existed. 

This was not the first such episode either: the previous year, in 2025, Kunal had gone to the same cliff demanding a phone and threatened to end his life, an attempt police intervened to stop.

Newer Details Point to a Deeper Family and Property Dispute

As the investigation continued, further reporting surfaced deeper tensions behind the tragedy. The mother’s side of the family said the deaths stemmed from a long-running property dispute between the parents and from Kunal’s repeated attempts to reconcile them, while relatives on the father’s side said the couple’s love marriage had strained wider family ties. 

Police were also examining a video the mother had posted in which she spoke cryptically of being denied her and her son’s rightful share. Those newer details are reported here.

The Mother’s Old Video Resurfaced

Indian outlets also reported on a video the mother had previously posted to social media, in which she spoke about family disputes, pressure from relatives, and the value of relationships. That video is now also under police investigation.

Police Confirmed the iPhone Claim Is False

The Deputy Commissioner of Police for Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar stated that the young man had been under severe mental distress, and that despite intense efforts by his parents, local residents, and police to talk him down, those efforts sadly failed. 

Because no member of the family survived, there is no direct witness to establish the true cause. Based on preliminary investigations, police confirmed that the claim an iPhone caused the deaths is false and urged the public to stop spreading baseless misinformation online.

The Family’s Relatives Rejected the iPhone Story

Pallavi Patil, sister of the deceased mother Sangeeta, released a video stating that the iPhone story spreading online is false, and appealed to the public to stop circulating baseless claims without knowing the family’s real circumstances. Her full statement is available here.

Babanrao Patil, the young man’s grandfather, told the media this was not a premeditated attempt at suicide. He described it instead as an unexpected accident that occurred while trying to reach his grandson atop the cliff, amid an argument fueled by intense distress within the family. That report is available here.

We also reached out to our own Fact Crescendo India team, who confirmed that the precise trigger behind the deaths remains unclear. Police, along with several relatives and friends, have rejected the claim that an iPhone was behind it, noting that the young man already owned one. They said a family dispute appears the more probable cause, though pinpointing the exact reason has proven difficult because everyone involved has died.

If You Need Support

If you or someone you know is going through a difficult time like this, please reach out immediately to these free, confidential support services:

Sri Lanka Sumithrayo — Phone: 011-2692909 / 011-2696666 — Website: www.sumithrayo.org

National Mental Health Helpline — Hotline: 1926

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Conclusion

Our fact-check finds that claims of a young man in India taking his own life over a denied iPhone are misleading. Mainstream media, citing police statements, reported that the actual cause was not an iPhone dispute but long-standing family conflict and discord between the parents, with newer accounts pointing to a property dispute and deeper family tensions.

Police confirmed that both the deceased mother and son already owned iPhones and were investigating whether those phones were bought on installment plans and whether any payment issues existed. Sangeeta’s sister Pallavi Patil and other close relatives told the media that the story blaming iPhone installments is a baseless rumor and accused social media of amplifying the phone narrative while glossing over deeper psychological and internal family issues. 

Notably, the young man had made a similar threat the previous year, in 2025, going to the same cliff over a phone, when police intervened to save him.