Ketan Agarwal Murder Case: Pune Court Sends Fiancée Siya Goel, Co-Accused Chetan Chaudhary To Judicial Custody
A Pune court rejected the prosecution's plea for an extension of police custody and remanded Siya Goel and Chetan Chaudhary to 14 days' judicial custody in the Ketan Agarwal murder case, despite investigators citing coded chats recovered from their mobile phones
A Pune court remanded Siya Goel and Chetan Chaudhary to 14 days' judicial custody in the Ketan Agarwal murder case after rejecting the police's plea for extended custody
A Pune court on Friday remanded Siya Goel and Chetan Chaudhary to 14 days' judicial custody in connection with the alleged murder of realtor Ketan Agarwal, after declining the prosecution's request for further police custody.
The accused were produced before Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) A.M. Vibhute upon the expiry of their police remand.
Seeking an extension of police custody by three days, the prosecution submitted that investigators had recovered chats from the mobile phones of the accused containing coded language and symbols, which required further custodial interrogation to decode and understand their relevance to the investigation.
Counsel appearing for Goel and Chaudhary opposed the plea, arguing that the investigating agency had already been granted sufficient time to interrogate the accused and that no further police custody was warranted.
After hearing both sides, the court rejected the prosecution's application and remanded both accused to judicial custody until July 16.
According to the prosecution, Siya Goel (20) and Chetan Chaudhary (22) are accused of pushing Ketan Agarwal off a cliff at Lohagad Fort in Pune district on June 18, resulting in his death.
Investigators allege that Agarwal and Goel were engaged and were scheduled to marry in November this year. The case has attracted widespread attention amid allegations of a premeditated conspiracy behind the killing.
The investigation is continuing.
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.