A Maharashtra court granted police five more days with the two people accused of murdering 26-year-old Ketan Agrawal at Lohagad Fort in Pune on June 18.
Siya Goyal and Chetan Babulal Chaudhary were produced before the Vadgaon Maval court for the second time on June 29, following the end of their initial police custody. They had been arrested on June 23 and held in custody until June 29.
What Police Told The Court
Presenting their case for a five-day extension, police told the court they still had several crucial steps left in the investigation.
Officers said they needed to carry out a crime scene recreation with both the accused present. They also informed the court that Siya had allegedly torn and burnt Ketan’s passport, and that efforts were still underway to recover the remains.
Furthermore, police noted that Chetan had changed his clothes after the murder and his subsequent movements needed to be traced. Investigators are also working to establish the details of phone conversations the two accused allegedly had after the incident.
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Crime Scene Recreated at Lohagad Fort
A day before the court hearing, on June 28, both Siya and Chetan were taken to Lohagad Fort to recreate the sequence of events.
To allow the exercise to be carried out without disruption, the fort was temporarily closed to the public, with police restricting entry citing safety reasons. During the recreation, police used a dummy to verify how the incident unfolded.
Who Was Ketan Agrawal?
Ketan Agrawal, 26, lived in Gahunje in Pune district. He was the director and Chief Marketing Officer of Success Group, a family-run real estate business. On June 18, he was found dead at the bottom of a gorge nearly 400 feet deep at Lohagad Fort. His fiancee, Siya, initially told Lonavala rural police that he had slipped while the two were on an outing and that strong winds were a factor. An accidental death report was registered at the time.
However, further investigation led police to conclude that Ketan had been pushed to his death and that the incident had been staged to appear as an accident.
Police allege that Siya was in a relationship with Chetan Chaudhary, 22, a resident of Kondhwa in Pune. According to police, Chetan was unhappy with Siya’s engagement to Ketan and considered him an obstacle. The two allegedly planned together to kill him.
Police claim Siya brought Ketan to the fort on the pretext of a casual outing and that Chetan was called to the location separately. The two then allegedly pushed Ketan from behind, sending him into the gorge below.
A Failed Attempt Weeks Before The Murder
Siya and Ketan had first visited the fort together on May 31. Four days later, on June 4, Siya pushed for another visit, but Ketan’s mother did not allow it. On June 14, she successfully persuaded him to make another trip.
During that visit, police allege she tried to push him off a cliff, but Ketan managed to grab hold of a bush and save himself. When he asked why she had pushed him, she claimed she had seen a snake and was trying to pull him away from it.
