PUNE: The investigation into the death of Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal is now focusing on an alleged chain of planning, rehearsals and movements that police say preceded the fatal fall at Lohagad Fort, with investigators examining the alleged roles of his fiancée Siya Goyal and her friend Chetan Chaudhary.Agarwal (25), director of a real estate firm, died after falling from a cliff at Lohagad Fort in Maval taluka on June 18.The case was initially registered as an accidental death but later turned into a murder investigation after police claimed involvement of Goyal and Chaudhary. Both were arrested on June 23 and remain in police custody till July 3.
Rehearsals and 3 failed bids
Pune Rural police have alleged that the accused duo rehearsed the crime before carrying out the act at Lohagad Fort.A Pune Rural police officer said Goyal and Chaudhary confessed during custodial interrogation to practising the act at a hill near Market Yard.“We will identify the exact spot where the rehearsal took place and conduct a spot panchnama. The two accused also narrated how they rehearsed the act before executing the crime,” the officer said.Investigators are also looking into the alleged attempts before the final incident, with the police probing the sequence that led to what they describe as the successful execution of the plan at Lohagad Fort.
Cafe meeting: Police trace alleged planning
According to news agency PTI, police allege that the duo hatched the conspiracy during a meeting at a cafe in Pune’s Lullanagar area on June 17, a day before Agarwal’s death.The claim is supported by recovered CCTV footage, according to PTI.Police have alleged that the crime was planned by Goyal and Chaudhary, who were arrested after the investigation moved beyond the initial accidental death theory.
The ‘signal’
Pune Rural Police have claimed that Goyal allegedly gave a pre-decided signal to Chaudhary before Agarwal was pushed from the cliff.According to investigators, Goyal allegedly sat on the ground to drink water, which police suspect was a calculated move to keep herself away from Agarwal’s reach and prevent him from grabbing her for support during the fall.“In the ongoing probe, it has come to light that the crime was allegedly planned by accused Siya Goyal and her friend Chetan Chaudhary,” news agency ANI quoted a police officer as saying.
Recreation of crim scene at Lohagad
Police have seized Chaudhary’s scooter, which he allegedly used to travel to Lohagad Fort on the day of the incident.“We are planning to recreate the scene at Lohagad Fort in Chaudhary’s presence. We have his custody till July 3 and the schedule for reconstruction will be decided accordingly,” a police officer said.On Wednesday, Pune Rural police recreated the crime scene with Chaudhary at Lohagad Fort, where the sequence of events was reconstructed as part of the investigation.A similar reconstruction was earlier carried out with Goyal, during which a dummy was pushed off the cliff in her presence.Police are also preparing to conduct a gait analysis of Chaudhary after CCTV footage allegedly captured a person resembling him walking near the foothills of Lohagad Fort.“Gait analysis involves studying an individual’s walking pattern to help establish identity. While seeking police custody of both the accused, we informed the court about the proposed gait analysis. Work on this is currently under way,” the officer added.
Ketan’s phone remained with Siya after death
Police are also investigating what happened to Agarwal’s mobile phone after the alleged incident.According to news agency PTI, Agarwal’s mobile phone remained in the possession of Goyal for some time before she handed it over to his family.Seeking an extension of police custody, the prosecution informed the court that investigators wanted to ascertain whether Goyal had deleted or destroyed any evidence from the phone during the period it remained with her.“She later handed over the phone to his family. We are investigating whether any crucial evidence was deleted or tampered with while the phone was in her possession,” a police official said.
The ‘sabotaged’ Bali trip
Police have also referred to the relationship timeline between Agarwal and Goyal while investigating the alleged motive.Ketan Agarwal and Siya Goyal were engaged on February 19 and were scheduled to marry later this year.Police suspect that Goyal, who was allegedly in a relationship with Chaudhary since October last year, was unwilling to proceed with the marriage.According to police, Goyal had earlier allegedly sabotaged their planned pre-wedding trip to Bali, Indonesia.Police said the trip was affected after Ketan’s passport went missing, which investigators are examining as part of the sequence of events before the alleged crime.Earlier, police had said Agarwal’s father Vishal Agarwal mentioned in his complaint that his son had repeatedly raised concerns about Goyal’s closeness to Chaudhary, saying she often mentioned the latter’s name during their conversations.(With agency inputs)
