PUNE: A fresh twist emerged in the Ketan Agarwal murder case on Monday after Siya Goyal’s brother, Sahil Goyal, claimed that advocate Ashutosh Srivastava was neither appointed nor authorised by the family to represent the accused, distancing the family from the lawyer’s claims.The development came as the Vadgaon Maval court remanded Goyal and co-accused Chetan Chaudhary to police custody till July 3.“We have never hired him (Advocate Ashutosh Srivastava), and he is not someone that we have hired from our family. I know nothing about what he is claiming…” Sahil said.The two accused were produced before the Vadgaon Maval court after their seven-day police custody ended. Arrested on June 23, Goyal and Chaudhary are accused of conspiring to murder 26-year-old Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal by allegedly pushing him off a cliff at Lohagad Fort on June 18.Seeking an extension of custody, police relied on fresh evidence collected during the investigation, including CCTV footage allegedly showing the accused meeting at a café in Pune’s Lullanagar a day before the murder, the recreation of the crime scene at Lohagad Fort, the seizure of a scooter allegedly used by Chaudhary to avoid toll plazas, and findings that the duo had conducted “practice sessions” before executing the crime.Advocate Priyanka Baradkar, junior counsel to Ashutosh Srivastava, declined to comment on the proceedings ahead of the hearing.“Today is the date of her hearing. Before the hearing, we cannot say anything,” she said.Meanwhile, advocate Vipul Dushing, who said he had been appointed by Siya Goyal’s family, represented her before the court and said the defence would present its arguments.“We are representing Siya in this case. As of now, there are no specific expectations; the case is still in its very initial stage. We will present our arguments before the court and strive to secure at least a police custody remand for her…” Dushing said.On Sunday, Pune Rural Police alleged that Goyal gave a pre-decided signal to Chaudhary moments before he pushed Agarwal off the cliff. Investigators also took her to Lohagad Fort to recreate the crime scene using a dummy.Police have further alleged that Chaudhary travelled nearly 100 km from Pune to the fort on a scooter instead of a car to avoid detection at toll plazas.Investigators also claim the accused had visited the fort before the murder to identify a suitable spot and rehearse the crime.They are still trying to ascertain where the alleged practice sessions took place.Police have alleged that the conspiracy was hatched during a meeting at a café in Pune’s Lullanagar a day before the incident, a claim they say is corroborated by CCTV footage recovered during the investigation.Agarwal and Goyal got engaged on February 19 and were scheduled to marry later this year. Police suspect Goyal, who was allegedly in a relationship with Chaudhary since October last year, was unwilling to go ahead with the marriage.(With ANI inputs)
