New details have emerged in the murder of 26-year-old Pune-based realtor Ketan Agarwal, with police saying his fiance allegedly took around Rs 1 crore from him under the pretext of wedding shopping before orchestrating his killing.
Police and sources said the accused, Siya Goyal, 20, along with her alleged lover Chetan Chaudhary, 22, had not only planned the murder in advance but had also worked out a detailed timeline for their future, including a plan to marry years after the crime to avoid suspicion.
Goyal and Chaudhary have been arrested for allegedly conspiring to kill Agarwal and pushing him off a cliff at Lohagad fort in Pune on June 18.
Rs 1 Crore Taken In Name Of Wedding Preparations
As part of the plan, Siya Goyal allegedly took around Rs 1 crore from her fiance Ketan Agarwal on the pretext of shopping for their wedding. The money was later handed over to Chetan Chaudhary.
Agarwal gave Goyal the amount for wedding preparations. Instead of using it for that purpose, Goyal handed the entire sum to Chaudhary to help him stabilise his career and business.
Read: Chetan Chaudhary’s 10-Hour ‘Ghost Strategy’ For Fort Visit Before Murder
Since Chaudhary came from a financially weak background, he had told Goyal that he would need at least three years to become financially stable.
Plan To Marry After Three Years
The two had allegedly agreed that after Agarwal’s murder, Goyal would remain unmarried for three years to avoid suspicion. Once Chaudhary became financially secure and the case faded from public attention, they planned to get married.
Investigators say this timeline was part of a strategy to escape scrutiny and eventually gain acceptance from Goyal’s family.
Signal-Based Murder Plan
Meanwhile, amid the ongoing investigation, police have said that Goyal sat down not only to signal Chaudhary to push Agarwal off Lohagad Fort, but also to ensure she remained out of the victim’s reach during the fall.
An official said that as per the plan, Goyal was to give a signal by sitting down, following which Chaudhary was to come up and push an unsuspecting Agarwal to his death.
The two had decided that she would sit down either to drink water or on the pretext of tying her shoelaces. Sitting down was the signal, the official added. However, it was also a well-thought-out move to protect Goyal.
Read: What Happened At Lohagad? Siya Goyal Taken To Fort To Recreate Crime Scene
“The signal was chosen deliberately so that Goyal would not be within the victim’s reach during the fatal push. They feared that if Chetan pushed Ketan and the latter tried to grab Siya while falling, she too could fall into the gorge. The plan was made keeping her safety in mind,” the official said, news agency PTI reported.
Chaudhary had also taken great care to mask his presence as he followed Goyal and Agarwal on June 18. Police said he deliberately travelled from Pune to Lohagad Fort, a distance of about 90 km, on a scooter instead of a car.
“Chaudhary travelled to Lohagad Fort on the morning of June 18. He chose a scooter over a car as he feared the car could be detected at a toll plaza. We have seized the scooter,” said a police officer.
‘Secret Call’ Between Siya And Chetan
The investigation also revealed that Goyal dialled her lover and co-accused about half an hour before she allegedly pushed her fiance off a cliff.
Goyal allegedly had a ‘secret call’ with Chaudhary just 34 minutes before the murder, sources said, citing their call details record (CDR), which is now being seen as their final go-ahead for the murder plot to kill her fiance.
The police have also found that the murder plan was finalised as early as May end and that Goyal first tried to push Agarwal off a cliff on June 14, said sources.
But the plan failed as Agarwal saved himself by grabbing a bush, they said, adding that Goyal then cooked up a snake story to claim that she accidentally pushed him.
On their second attempt on June 18, Chaudhary decided to follow them to the fort to ensure that Agarwal doesn’t manage to escape.
(With inputs from agencies)
