Maharashtra Teen Kills Self After Being Denied Smartphone, His Debt-Ridden Father Found Hanging From Same Rope

A Class 10 student's desire for a smartphone and his farmer father's inability to afford it ended in tragedy, as both were found hanging from a tree on their family farm in a village in Nanded.

Police reported on Friday that the 16-year-old boy was discovered hanging from a tree on the family's farm in Minaki, Biloli tehsil, on Thursday morning. Upon finding his son, the father also took his own life by hanging himself from the same tree.

According to the Times of India report, the teenager, Omkar, was the youngest of three brothers and lived in a hostel in Udgir, Latur district. He had returned home to celebrate Makar Sankranti.

According to a police officer, the boy had asked his father for a smartphone to aid his studies, but his father was unable to fulfil the request due to financial difficulties.

Superintendent of Police (Nanded), Abinash Kumar, told TOI: "We have registered a case of accidental death based on the statement of the boy's mother. We are investigating the circumstances that led to the incident."

Father Unable to Afford Smartphone Due to Loan Repayments

Sub-Inspector Dilip Munde, who is leading the investigation, stated that the boy's mother mentioned her son had been persistently asking for a smartphone.

"She said the boy again raised the issue on Wednesday evening. However, his father explained that he could not afford a smartphone as he was repaying loans taken for the farm and a vehicle. Upset with his father's response, the boy left the house," Munde explained.

The parents assumed the boy had gone to the farm to sleep. However, when he did not return home the next morning, the family, including his two brothers, began searching for him. The father was the first to reach the farm and found the boy hanging from a tree. Shocked and overwhelmed, he brought his son's body down and then hanged himself with the same rope, Munde added.

The double tragedy came to light when other family members arrived at the farm. Upon being informed of the incident, the police reached the scene and took both bodies to the civil hospital, where doctors confirmed they were dead on arrival.

The police confirmed that the last rites for both were conducted in their village on Thursday evening after post-mortem examinations were completed.