PUNE: Police investigating the murder of Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal in Lohagad Fort said on Friday that accused Siya Goyal’s brother, Sahil Goyal, knew about her relationship with co-accused Chetan Chaudhary and advised her to end it as she was engaged to Ketan.
Ketan died on June 18 after falling from Lohagad Fort. Police are investigating the case as a suspected murder. His fiancée Siya and her friend Chetan have been arrested and are in police custody.
Investigators questioned Sohail for more than two hours about when he learned about the relationship and whether other family members knew about it.
“Sahil told us that he knew about Sia and Chetan’s relationship several months ago. He felt concerned about its implications and advised his sister to end the relationship as she was already engaged to Ketan,” a senior police officer said, requesting anonymity.
According to investigators, Sahil and Chetan got to know each other in 2024 through cricket, after which Chetan became friends with Siya.
So far, the Pune Rural Police has recorded statements of 10 people, including Neeraj Kumar, an employee of Chetan Shop, and has taken family members of both the accused and the victim to the fort to reconstruct the sequence of events.
Investigators said that Siya and Chetan remained in a close relationship despite the preparations for her marriage. During interrogation, both reportedly blamed the other for Ketan’s death, forcing investigators to rely on forensic evidence, digital records and witness statements.
According to another officer, Siya was reportedly reluctant to marry Ketan after learning that he was wearing a wig due to baldness. “Kitan underwent expensive hair treatment due to a hair loss condition. Ketan’s family alleged that Goyal’s family was informed that he was wearing a small hair patch,” the officer said.
The investigation also intensified after police found that the accused had deleted their phone conversations and emptied recycling bins before and after the crime. “Their phones have been sent to the forensic laboratory to recover the deleted data,” said Gajanan Tonbe, deputy inspector of police, Lonavala division.
Meanwhile, Sia’s mother, Pooja Goyal, claimed that her daughter initially refused to accompany Ketan to Lohagad Fort and agreed only after his mother convinced her during a video call on June 17.
“Sia told her that she didn’t want to go on a trip because there was a job the next day and she wanted to rest,” Pooja claimed.
She also maintained that Siya never expressed his dissatisfaction with the marriage and that the family was not aware of Chetan. “If the investigation shows that she is guilty, sentence her to the harshest punishment,” she said.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who met Ketan’s father Vishal Agarwal on Friday, assured the family of full support, agreed to set up a fast track court for the case and accepted the family’s request to appoint senior advocate Ujjwal Nikam as special public prosecutor.
