In a new turn in the investigation of the alleged murder of 25-year-old Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal by his fiancée Siya Goyal and her “boyfriend” Chetan Chaudhary, police on Friday questioned a youth from Maharashtra's Beed district over suspicion of having part of a discussion the accused held over the killing plot.
Ketan Agarwal died after falling off a cliff during a trek with his fiancée Siya Goyal, 20, at Lohagad Fort near Lonavala on June 18. The death was initially reported to be accidental but later saw a shocking twist after police questioning raised suspicion over Siya Goyal and ultimately a “confession” by her of having killed her fiance.
The exact motive behind the alleged crime is still being investigated, with multiple theories — mostly surrounding Siya's alleged reluctance to get married — emerging during the probe, one of them being that she was unhappy over Ketan wearing a wig.
Beed youth in focus
Police suspect that accused Siya Goyal and her alleged boyfriend, Chetan Chaudhary, had allegedly discussed their plan to eliminate Agarwal with a youth from Beed, who is a former classmate of Chaudhary and currently works for a private company in Balewadi in Pune, HT earlier reported.
They had also reportedly invited him to accompany them to Lohagad Fort on June 18, the day Ketan was allegedly pushed into the gorge.
However, the youth is said to have declined the invitation and allegedly advised the duo not to carry out such an act. Police are verifying the claim as part of the ongoing investigation.
Investigators have found that the youth was in regular contact with Chetan since the last week of May.
Police are now examining the trio’s call detail records, digital chats and other electronic evidence to establish the sequence of events.
Dinesh Tayade, senior police inspector at Lonavala rural police station, said, “Investigation is at a primary level. After analysis of chats and call records, it is found that the youth was in contact with the accused. We are questioning him and will take the necessary steps accordingly.”
Polygraph test opposed
A Pune court on Friday remanded Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary to 14 days of judicial custody after rejecting the prosecution’s plea for an extension of their police custody.
The court also rejected the Pune Rural police’s request to subject the accused to polygraph tests after the defence opposed the move.
The investigating agency had sought permission to conduct polygraph tests on Goyal and Chaudhary as part of its probe into Agarwal’s death. However, the defence lawyers objected to the application, making it clear that the examinations cannot proceed without the accused’s consent.
The accused were produced before Wadgaon Maval Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) A M Vibhute following the expiry of their police remand on Friday.
Assistant Public Prosecutor Advocate Rajshree Birkud sought a three-day extension of police custody, contending that data recovered from the mobile phones of Goyal and Chaudhary contained chats in signs and coded language. Investigators argued that further custodial interrogation was necessary to decode the conversations and advance the investigation, according to an earlier HT report.
However, counsel representing the accused opposed the plea, arguing that the police had already been given sufficient time to investigate the case and that any further custodial interrogation was unwarranted.
After hearing both sides, the court rejected the prosecution’s request and remanded the accused to judicial custody till July 16.
