‘If a person does not value you…’: Sangeeta’s old video surfaces as cops probe motive behind Maharashtra hill tragedy | Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar News
CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: An old social media video posted by Sangeeta Chandgude, who died along with her husband and 18-year-old son Kunal at Khavdya Dongar on Friday, has surfaced as police investigate the family discord they believe preceded the tragedy.In the video, Sangeeta spoke about relationships, mutual respect and the importance of leaving relationships in which one’s efforts and affection are not valued.“Be prepared to give not just from your plate, but even from your destiny, but only to a person who values you and values your love,” she said in the video.She compared relationships to a poli, saying it tastes sweet only when it is roasted on both sides. “If it is roasted only on one side, we cannot eat it. Relationships are the same way,” she said, stressing that both people must value and respect a relationship.“If one person is putting in the effort and the other does not value it at all, then that relationship has no meaning and it is always better for you to get out of such a relationship,” she said.Police investigating the deaths have said their preliminary findings point to “serious differences” within the family and have ruled out, for now, the initial theory that an unfulfilled demand for an iPhone was the immediate trigger.DCP (Zone-I) Pankaj Atulkar told TOI that the tragedy appeared to have resulted from a family dispute and serious differences within the household.Investigators have also found other social media videos posted by Sangeeta in which she allegedly referred indirectly to difficulties in her personal life. Police said these videos have added to their suspicion that the family had been facing domestic discord.Assistant police inspector Naresh Thakre said the investigation had revealed that Murlidhar had patched up with his sisters a few months ago after years of differences. His increased interaction with them subsequently became a source of differences between him and Sangeeta, he said.Police are also checking whether the iPhones used by Kunal and Sangeeta had been purchased on EMI and whether repayment issues played any role, as claimed by some acquaintances.Kunal, a NEET aspirant who had scored more than 90% in his Class X board examination, had gone to the same hill last year after his demand for an iPhone was not fulfilled and had threatened to end his life. Police personnel had then counselled him and reunited him with his parents.“This year there was something else,” constable Suresh Bhise, who responded to both incidents, told TOI.On Friday, Kunal reached Khavdya Dongar and informed his parents that he intended to end his life. His father rushed to the spot, followed by Sangeeta, a friend, police personnel, fire brigade teams and local residents. Efforts to persuade him to return continued for nearly three hours.Witnesses said Sangeeta repeatedly pleaded with her son to step away from the edge. At one point, she reportedly told him that she would leave her husband and stay with him.Police said Kunal appeared to be responding to the counselling before his father returned and tried to pull him away from the edge. Both fell during the ensuing struggle, while Sangeeta also fell moments later. All three died at the spot.Two other videos of Kunal and Sangeeta that surfaced after the tragedy show a different side of their relationship. In one, Kunal is seen having tea with his mother, while in another he is seen washing her feet and seeking her blessings.The videos have drawn attention to the close bond between the mother and son, even as investigators continue to piece together the circumstances behind the family’s domestic tensions.The couple had two sons. Their elder son Kapil died of illness about a decade ago at the age of 10, after which Kunal became their only child.Police are continuing to investigate the family dispute and the events that preceded the tragedy.
