In a tragic incident, a farmer and his son committed suicide in Meenaki village of Nanded, Maharashtra, allegedly over the purchase of a smartphone.

According to Times of India ReportThe boy had requested his father to buy him a smart phone but he could not do so due to financial constraints.

Sub-inspector Dilip Munde, who investigated the case, said that according to the boy’s mother, she had been urging her husband to buy a smartphone for some time.

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He said the boy raised the issue again on Wednesday evening. However, his father expressed his inability to buy a smartphone as he was paying off loans taken for a farm and a car. Distraught, the boy left the house,” Munde was quoted as saying by TOI.

After the boy did not return, his father reached his farm where he found that his son had committed suicide. Shocked by this, the father also committed suicide.

The twin suicides came to light after other family members reached the farm, the officer added.

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The father and son were taken to Civil Hospital where they were declared brought dead on arrival. His last rites were performed on Thursday.

Filed a case

Superintendent of Police (Nandir) Abinash Kumar told TOI that the police have registered a case of accidental death.

He said that we have registered a case of accidental death based on the statement of the boy’s mother. We are verifying the circumstances that led to this incident.

Discussing suicides can be triggering for some people. However, suicides can be prevented. Some of the major suicide prevention helpline numbers in India are 011-23389090 from Samitri (based in Delhi) and 044-24640050 from Sneha Foundation (based in Chennai).