The death of a family in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar following a row over a mobile phone has left the city in shock. A 19-year-old’s demand for a mobile phone ended in the deaths of the boy and both his parents as all three fell off the Khawadya Hill in the Tisgaon area on Friday afternoon.
The teenager went to the hill around 10 am after an argument with his parents, who followed him. As they tried to persuade him to back down, many others, including the police, fire brigade personnel, villagers and the sarpanch reached the spot.
The village sarpanch urged the boy to step back and tried to lure him with various promises, NDTV reported. In an attempt to save the boy, which went on for three hours, the Sarpanch said, “Ae bhai, main gaon ka sarpanch hoon. Chal! Jo chahiye wo laakar denge. Gaon mein chal. (Hey, I am the village sarpanch. Come on! We’ll get you whatever you want. Let’s return to the village.)”
The sarpanch further tried to make an emotional appeal to the boy asking him to return for his mother. “Tumhare koodne se kiska… kya bahut bada naam hone wala hai tumhara? Maa ke liye jee lo na! (What will be achieved by jumping? Please, live for your mother’s sake!)”
Unmoved by all the appeals, the teen said, “No, I have to die. That remains the only way.”
As reported by Hindustan Times in an earlier report, rescue personnel tried to place a safety net at the foothill, but the 19-year-old repeatedly changed his position near the edge, making it difficult for them to anticipate where he might jump.
“After 1 pm, his father slowly approached him and pleaded with him to step away from the edge. The teenager suddenly jumped, and his father also fell while trying to grab and save him,” Rameshwar Gade, inspector at Waluj MIDC police station.
Seeing her husband and son fall, the mother too jumped from the hilltop. Police said the bodies were recovered and were sent for further formalities.
Sanjay Jadhav, former sarpanch of Tisgaon village, who was among those trying to persuade the 19-year-old, said, “We, along with the administration, were trying to convince the teenager for almost three hours, but he was not in a condition to listen to anybody.”