Arya News - Investigators are now trying to establish the precise nature of the conflict inside the household.
NEW DELHI – A dispute that had strained a Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar family for months has emerged as the central line of inquiry into a cliff tragedy that left a young man and both his parents dead, police said.
Investigators are now trying to establish the precise nature of the conflict inside the household. The preliminary findings broaden the focus beyond the mobile-phone quarrel that was initially linked to the August 21 deaths.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Pankaj Atulkar said the family had been living under considerable stress for the preceding two to three months.
“Preliminary investigations reveal that there was a family dispute, which had created an atmosphere of stress in the household over the past two or three months. Distressed by this situation, the young man attempted suicide on August 21st,” Atulkar said.
Nearly two-hour effort to persuade Kunal
Police said Kunal reached the edge of a cliff around noon on August 21 and told police and villagers that he intended to take his own life.
Police personnel called the fire brigade and spent around one-and-a-half to two hours trying to persuade him to move away from the edge.
“On August 21st, an incident occurred in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city, resulting in the unfortunate deaths of three people. The sequence of events began when a young man named Kunal arrived at the edge of a cliff around 12:00 PM and announced to the police and villagers that he intended to commit suicide,” Atulkar said.
“The police responded immediately and summoned the fire brigade; extensive efforts were made to reason with him, lasting nearly 1.5-2 hours,” he said.
Parents’ rescue attempt ends in triple fatality
The situation turned fatal when Kunal’s parents attempted to intervene.
According to Atulkar, Kunal’s father lost his balance while trying to grab him and fell from the cliff. His mother, who was also at the spot, then jumped.
“When his father attempted to grab him, he lost his balance and fell; simultaneously, his mother, who was also present at the scene, suddenly jumped off the cliff. Thus, three lives were lost in this incident,” the DCP said.
Police are continuing inquiries to determine what lay behind the family dispute.
“We are currently conducting further inquiries to uncover the root cause of this incident and fully understand the circumstances that led to it,” Atulkar said.
Initial police accounts after the deaths had linked the incident to a quarrel between Kunal and his father over a mobile phone.
Police had said the cliff was around 400-500 feet high and that personnel from the police and fire brigade had tried to rescue the young man before the deaths.