NEW DELHI: A 30-year-old dance teacher allegedly jumped into the Yamuna in southeast Delhi after a decline in his income made it difficult for him to pay the instalments on an iPhone, police said.The incident took place around 8.30 pm on Friday near Bhola Ghat in the Kalindi Kunj area, when police personnel on patrol were alerted that a man had jumped into the river.A team immediately reached the spot and informed the flood department, following which a rescue team arrived with a boat. The man, identified as Deepak Kumar, was spotted in the river and brought to safety.Kumar, a resident of Sanjay Colony in Okhla, works as a dance teacher and also takes up gardening work. He lives with his wife and two children, police said.During questioning, Kumar told police that his income had declined over the past few months, making it difficult for him to pay the monthly instalments on his iPhone.The financial pressure had caused him considerable stress, following which he took the extreme step, police said.Police counselled Kumar and called his wife and brother-in-law to the police station before sending him home.The incident comes days after a similar tragedy in Maharashtra, where an 18-year-old teen died after jumping from Khavdya Dongar near Tisgaon after his parents allegedly refused to buy him an iPhone.Kunal Chandwade had reached the hill around 10am and remained near the edge for nearly three hours as his parents, villagers, police and fire brigade personnel tried to persuade him to return to safety. Fire brigade teams had deployed safety nets below the steep cliff.Tisgaon sarpanch Sanjay Jadhav was among those trying to persuade Kunal. Jadhav later said they repeatedly asked him to think about his mother and not take the step. He also offered to give Kunal an iPhone in an attempt to keep him engaged.Kunal eventually jumped as his father Murlidhar moved towards him in an attempt to pull him to safety. Both died in the fall. Kunal’s mother Sangeeta also died moments later.Police recovered the bodies from the difficult terrain and sent them for postmortem. Investigators are recording statements of witnesses and examining the circumstances surrounding the deaths.(With inputs from PTI)
