Ketan Agarwal Death Case: Court Sends Accused Siya Goyal, Chetan Chaudhary To Police Custody Till July 3
The Vadgaon Maval Court remanded Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary to police custody till July 3 as Pune Rural Police sought further custodial interrogation in the alleged murder of Ketan Agarwal at Lohagad Fort
Accused Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary were produced before the Vadgaon Maval Court, which remanded them to police custody till July 3 in the Ketan Agarwal murder case
A court in Vadgaon Maval on Monday remanded Siya Goyal and her alleged lover Chetan Chaudhary to police custody till July 3 in connection with the sensational murder of 26-year-old Ketan Agarwal, who was allegedly pushed into a gorge at Lohagad Fort near Pune.
The two accused were produced before the Vadgaon Maval court after being brought from the Vadgaon Maval Police Station in Lonavala amid tight security.
The prosecution sought continued custodial interrogation, submitting that the investigation is at a crucial stage and several aspects of the alleged conspiracy remain to be examined.
The accused, Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary, were produced before a magistrate on expiry of their earlier remand.
Police have alleged that the duo conspired to kill Agarwal and pushed him into a deep gorge at the historic hill fort near Lonavala on June 18. According to investigators, Agarwal and Goyal had got engaged earlier this year and were scheduled to marry in the coming months. During the investigation, police allegedly discovered that Goyal and Chaudhary had been in a relationship for several months and considered Agarwal an obstacle to their future together.
What's the Ketan Agarwal Case?
The Ketan Agarwal case concerns the death of the 22-year-old Pune businessman, who died on June 18 after falling into a deep gorge at Lohagad Fort near Lonavala. Initially reported as an accidental fall during a trek, the case took a dramatic turn after investigators concluded that the death was allegedly the result of a pre-planned conspiracy.
Police have arrested Agarwal's fiancée Siya Goyal and her alleged lover Chetan Chaudhary, accusing them of conspiring to push him off a nearly 400-foot cliff at the fort's "Ghost Point." Both are currently in police custody till June 29.
The investigation has since uncovered what police describe as multiple earlier attempts to execute the alleged plan. According to investigators, Siya allegedly persuaded Ketan to visit Lohagad Fort on several occasions. During one such visit on June 14, she allegedly attempted to push him off the cliff, but he survived after grabbing onto nearby bushes. Police claim she later told him she had pushed him only because she had spotted a snake nearby.
Investigators further claim that Siya has told police she did not want to marry Ketan and feared the social consequences of calling off the engagement. According to police, she allegedly stated that she disliked his appearance, including his baldness, his use of a wig and his stammer, and believed ending the engagement would embarrass both families.
However, Ketan's father has publicly rejected the suggestion that his son's appearance played any meaningful role in the crime, stating that if Siya did not wish to marry him, she could simply have refused instead of allegedly planning his murder.
Meanwhile, Siya's mother has stated that her daughter was initially unwilling to visit Lohagad Fort and claimed that Ketan had insisted on the trekking trip. She also maintained that if her daughter is found guilty, she should receive the strictest punishment available under law.
It is to be noted that Senior Advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Ujjwal Nikam, the prosecutor widely known for securing the conviction of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Ajmal Kasab, has been appointed as the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) in the sensational Ketan Agarwal murder case. The Maharashtra government has also decided to conduct the trial through a fast-track court to ensure an expeditious conclusion.