PUNE: The family of murdered Indore businessman Raja Raghuvanshi has reacted to the alleged murder of Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal, with Raja’s mother claiming that the bail granted to Sonam Raghuvanshi could embolden others accused of similar crimes.Speaking after the arrest of Ketan Agarwal’s fiancée, Siya Goyal, and her alleged lover, Chetan Chaudhary, Raja’s mother, Uma Raghuvanshi, alleged that Sonam’s release on bail after being accused of murdering her husband had acted as a “motivation” for similar crimes. “Our government and judiciary need to act strongly now to prevent the increasing number of husband murder cases,” she said.Uma Raghuvanshi, said, “My point is that other girls see what these girls are doing and feel emboldened. Take the recent case in Pune, that girl was encouraged by seeing Sonam’s actions. Just as Raja was thrown off a cliff, this girl did the same thing to that boy. These girls will only mend their ways once they are hanged.”“Sonam, Muskan, and Siya all deserve the death penalty. She likely did it after seeing Sonam, because Sonam is walking free today. How could she get out of jail in just 11 months? Why isn’t her case being heard? Why isn’t she being put back in prison? Seeing how Sonam was released within a year, she probably thought she could get away with it too, ” Uma Raghuvanshi added.Raja’s brother, Vipin Raghuvanshi, also drew parallels between the two cases.Referring to the Pune murder case, Raja Raghuvanshi’s brother, Vipin Raghuvanshi, alleged that the incident bore similarities to his brother’s killing. He expressed concern that repeated cases of alleged murders involving romantic partners could embolden others to commit similar crimes if they believed they could eventually secure bail or avoid severe consequences.“In this Pune case, a girl named Siya, just like Sonam killed Raja… After seeing such incidents, people who commit these crimes may become even more confident, thinking that they can get away with it or come out of jail after some time, ” Vipin Raghuvanshi said.Pune Realtor Ketan Agarwal Murder CaseThe remarks came as police revealed fresh details in the murder investigation of 25-year-old Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal, who was allegedly pushed to his death from Lohagad Fort on June 18 by his fiancée Siya Goyal and her alleged lover, Chetan Chaudhary.According to police, the murder was pre-planned. During interrogation, both accused initially attempted to shift the blame onto each other before eventually admitting their roles in the conspiracy. A police official involved in the investigation said Goyal confessed to hatching the conspiracy while Chaudhary participated in planning and executing the murder.Investigators said the duo had devised a signal-based plan. As per the conspiracy, Goyal was to sit down at a predetermined spot, signalling Chaudhary to approach from behind and push an unsuspecting Agarwal into the gorge. Police said the plan was carried out exactly as intended.“Ketan had no idea what was coming. He was pushed into the gorge before he realised anything,” the official said.Police said Chaudhary initially claimed he had remained away from the exact location of the incident and did not know what had happened. However, investigators found inconsistencies in his statement, after which both accused allegedly confessed and narrated the sequence of events.When questioned about why they chose to murder Agarwal instead of eloping, the accused allegedly told investigators that eloping would have brought disrepute to their families. Police said this fear led them to allegedly conspire to eliminate Agarwal rather than run away together.The investigation into the murder is ongoing, and police are continuing to gather evidence to strengthen the case against the accused.Raja Raghuvanshi Murder CaseRaja Raghuvanshi, an Indore-based transport businessman, married Sonam on May 11, 2025, and the couple left for their honeymoon in Meghalaya on May 20, 2025.He went missing on May 23 while the couple was travelling in the northeastern state.After an extensive search, Raja’s mutilated body was recovered on June 2 from a deep gorge near a waterfall in Sohra, in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district.Police later arrested Sonam along with several others, including her alleged boyfriend, in connection with the murder.According to investigators, Raja was allegedly killed during the honeymoon as part of a pre-planned conspiracy.The post-mortem examination revealed that Raja had sustained two sharp-force injuries to the head, which investigators believe caused his death.
