PUNE: A youth from Beed district, who police say was allegedly urged by the accused to join their plan to kill Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal, has been picked up for questioning — after reportedly warning them against going ahead with it. Police claim the two accused, Chetan Chaudhary and Siya Goyal, discussed their alleged plan with the youth, who is Chetan’s friend and classmate. According to sources, Chetan and Siya had allegedly shared their plan to kill Agarwal with him and urged him to accompany them to Lohagad Fort on June 18 — but he did not go with them that day. Sources further claimed he had advised both Chetan and Siya against killing Agarwal.Cops have learnt that after the alleged murder, Chetan first met the youth, and Siya is also said to have spoken to him afterward. The youth, employed with a private company in Balewadi, had reportedly been in touch with Chetan since the last week of May. Pune Rural Police have now taken him into custody for questioning. Agarwal died after falling from Lohagad Fort near Pune on June 18, following which a murder case was registered. Lonavala Rural Police suspect prime accused Siya Goyal — who was engaged to Agarwal — was unwilling to marry at this stage of her life and was allegedly under family pressure to go ahead with the wedding. Following the incident, the Maharashtra government approved a fast-track court for the case and appointed senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Ujjwal Nikam as Special Public Prosecutor. Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary, arrested on June 23.Earlier in the day, Goyal was caught on camera showing the middle finger at media personnel while being escorted by police. Videos showed her being taken out of her residence in Pune’s Market Yard area as part of the ongoing probe; dressed in a black T-shirt with a scarf covering her face, she briefly looked at reporters before raising her middle finger at the cameras. The clip went viral, drawing sharp criticism online, with many calling her conduct insensitive given the seriousness of the charges she faces.A Pune court remanded both Goyal (20) and Chaudhary (22) in 14-day judicial custody till July 16, rejecting the prosecution’s plea for a further extension of police custody. The prosecution had argued that coded chats recovered from the accused’s phones needed to be deciphered through custodial interrogation; the defence opposed the plea, arguing police had already had sufficient time to investigate. The court sided with the defence.
