The investigation into the death of Pune businessman Ketan Agarwal has shed new light on how accused Chetan Chaudhary first came into contact with Goyal’s family circle. According to police, Chetan was introduced to Siya Goyal through her brother Sahil, after developing a friendship between them over their common interest in cricket.
As HT reported earlier, police officials probing the Lohagad Fort death case said Sahil, who was interrogated for over 10 hours on Friday, told the cops that he was aware of Siya’s relationship with Chetan for several months and urged her to end the relationship as she was engaged to Ketan.
Ketan, director of a Pune-based real estate company, died on June 18 after falling from Lohagad Fort. Police are treating the case as a suspected murder. His fiancée Siya and her alleged friend Chetan have been arrested and remain in police custody.
A friendship developed on the cricket field
According to investigators, Sia and Chetan’s brother Sahil first met in 2024 through cricket.
Read also | Pune Murder: How Siya Goyal hid a horrific murder plot behind wedding preparations
“They used to play cricket together and later Chetan became friends with Siya through Sahil,” police sources said.
What started as a sporting relationship eventually evolved into a friendship that brought Chetan into regular contact with Goyal’s family, investigators said.
During interrogation, the police sought to establish when Sahil became aware of the relationship and whether other family members were aware of it.
“Sahil told us that he knew about Sia and Chetan’s relationship several months ago. Concerned about its implications, he advised his sister to end the relationship as she was already engaged to Ketan,” police sources said.
Investigators are now examining whether any family members noticed warning signs before the alleged plot took shape.
The relationship continued despite the wedding plans
According to the investigation, Sia and Chetan allegedly remained close even as preparations for her marriage with Ketan accelerated.
Police said Sia continued to be actively involved in the wedding arrangements. She visited Ketan’s family frequently, took care of the planning of the ceremony and planned a pre-wedding photo shoot with him in Bali.
Read also | On CCTV: Sia Goyal meets her ‘lover’ Chetan at a cafe to discuss the plot to kill her fiancé Ketan
Meanwhile, investigators claim that Sia and Chetan remained in constant touch. Between January and June, the two exchanged more than 2,000 phone calls, spending nearly 238 hours in conversation.
Police sources also said that Siya was reluctant to marry Ketan after learning that he was wearing a wig due to baldness. Investigators said Ketan had undergone an expensive hair treatment, while his family confirmed that Goyal’s family had already been informed that he had used a small hair patch.
A café meeting is under investigation
The main focus of the investigation is the meeting held the day before Ketan’s death.
According to police, Siya met Chetan at a cafe in Pune’s Kondhwa area on June 17. The meeting allegedly lasted more than 90 minutes and was captured on surveillance cameras.
Investigators suspect the meeting may be important to determine whether planning was planned before Ketan’s death.
Police have described Chetan, a resident of Kondhwa and a BBA graduate, as a central figure in the investigation and are examining his communications with Sia in the days leading up to the incident.
Bringing families to the crime scene
The Pune Rural Police has so far recorded statements from 10 people, including Neeraj Kumar, an employee at Chetan Store.
Investigators also took family members of both the accused and the victim to Lohagad Fort as part of efforts to reconstruct the events that led to Ketan’s death.
This case has also affected the families involved. Police sources said that Sia’s father was hospitalized after her arrest. His relatives said he was heavily involved in the wedding preparations, including travel arrangements for about 70 couples expected to attend the celebrations in Ahmedabad and Rajasthan.
