Pune, Jun 24: Hours before killing her fiance, Ketan Agarwal, at Lohagad Fort near Pune, the accused, Siya Goyal, had met her lover, Chetan Babulal Chaudhary, to plan the murder, which was initially framed as an accident.
26-year-old Ketan was allegedly pushed into a gorge by his 20-year-old fiance and her lover, 22, on June 18. Siya, who got engaged to Ketan in February and was scheduled to get married in a grand ceremony at Jaipur in November, told his family that he had slipped during the trek.
Failed Attempts Before Murder
Siya had repeatedly persuaded Ketan to visit the Lohagad Fort, located at about 3,300 feet from sea level in the Sahyadri range, on multiple occasions, said a police officer who was part of the probe.
On May 31, the couple had gone to Lohagad Fort. She had again insisted that they visit the fort four days later. But Ketan’s mother did not allow him to go there a second time.
Siya had once again planned a visit on June 14, and he agreed. On that day, she allegedly tried to push him off the cliff. He, however, managed to hold on to a bush. When Ketan asked why he had been pushed, she raised a false alarm about a snake and tried to make it appear that she had protected him.
On the morning of June 18, Siya and Chetan met at a cafe in Pune and planned Ketan’s murder. They identified possible locations on the fort from where they could push Ketan.
In the afternoon, Siya took Ketan to the fort again, and Chetan also followed them on the trek, which usually takes about three to four hours.
During the trek, he communicated with Siya using hand gestures. CCTV footage also showed Chetan wearing a hoodie to mask his identity while tailing the couple.
Siya and Chetan then allegedly pushed Ketan from behind into a gorge.
How Chetan Was Caught
While examining the CCTV footage, the police noticed Chetan, who was wearing shorts and a hoodie, tailing Ketan and Siya. He was also wearing a headset over the hoodie.
In another CCTV footage, she suddenly looked back at the man in the hoodie, and he immediately sat down.
The police also checked the temperature of that particular time on June 18 and found out that it was 33 degrees Celsius and wondered why anyone would wear a hoodie in such heat.
During inquiries with Ketan’s family members, they further came to know that Siya had repeatedly asked Ketan for a trip to Lohagad Fort, raising suspicions.
“The technical analysis established a close connection between the duo and pointed towards a well-thought-out conspiracy.
We then examined photographs and social media profiles linked to Chaudhary. A comparison of those images with CCTV footage from the fort showing a hooded individual in the area helped police narrow their focus on him,” a police officer was quoted as saying by the news agency PTI.
He added that based on the technical evidence and intelligence gathered by the Lonavala Rural Police Station and the Local Crime Branch (LCB), teams traced and detained Chaudhary.
“During interrogation, we connected all the dots, which revealed a premeditated conspiracy involving Siya and Chetan,” he said.
2,004 Phone Calls Between Siya, Chetan
Investigation also revealed that Siya and Chetan had exchanged 2,004 phone calls of nearly 238 hours over the last seven months.
The two met at a party during Diwali last year.
Police said Siya did not want to get married to Ketan, a director and chief marketing officer of a family-run real estate business.
They wanted to kill him before Siya and Ketan were scheduled to leave for Bali for a pre-wedding photoshoot. The trip, however, was also called off after Ketan’s passport mysteriously went missing.
“During the interrogation, Chetan was asked why they did not consider running away and instead chose to eliminate Ketan. According to him, Siya was not in favour of calling off the engagement and eloping with Chetan, as she thought doing so would bring disrespect to her family,” the officer said.
Both Siya and Chetan have been arrested.
