Reconstruction of the alleged crime, gait analysis and drama around the lawyer representing the accused are the latest developments in the investigation into the June 18 death of 25-year-old Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal during a trek to Lohagad Fort near Lonavala – earlier reported to be an accident but later turned into a murder investigation with his fiancée Siya Goyal and a 22-year-old man, Chetan Chaudhary, in a network to plan the murder.
Ketan Agarwal, director of family-run real estate firm Success Group and resident of Lodha Belmondo in Gahunje in Pune, visited Lohagad Fort on June 18 with his fiancée Siya Goyal as part of her birthday celebrations. Sia initially told police that Ketan slipped and fell while taking photos near the fort.
A report of accidental death was initially registered, but the case took a dramatic turn after police arrested the victim’s fiancée and her boyfriend, Chetan Chaudhary, on suspicion of murder days later.
Chetan’s gait analysis
Chetan Chaudhary, who is allegedly Sia Goyal’s boyfriend and became a suspicious figure in the investigation after he was caught near the foothills of Lohagad wearing a hoodie despite the hot weather on June 18, will reportedly undergo a “gait analysis”.
Gait analysis is the study of a person’s walking pattern, and is used to identify suspects from surveillance camera footage by comparing distinctive characteristics such as stride length, posture, and limb movements.
“In this case, the police are planning to compare the CCTV footage showing Chaudhary’s movements at Lohagad Fort with a reproduced video clip,” an earlier HT report said. An officer told the court on Monday.
According to investigators, the analysis became necessary because Chaudhry was wearing a hooded jacket to conceal his identity on the day of the accident. The police plan to recreate the CCTV footage by having Chaudhary wear a similar jacket and walk at the same location in the fort in a similar manner.
“We have CCTV footage that shows him walking while wearing a jacket to hide his face. The gait analysis will compare his movement in the CCTV footage to the reconstructed video to determine if the walking patterns match,” the officer said.
The police will reportedly recreate CCTV camera footage by making him wear a similar jacket and walk in the same place in the fort in a similar manner.
Drama on Sia’s lawyer
Sia Goyal is accused of killing her fiancé because she did not want to get married On Sunday, he was taken to the fort to reconstruct the alleged crime scene using a human-sized doll.
According to police, Goyal sat down to signal Chaudhary to push Agarwal off a cliff on June 18.
While Vipul Dosheng, the lawyer representing Sia, argued before the court on Monday that her arrest was illegal and without any valid reasons, Ram Shahane, Chaudhary’s lawyer, said his client’s role in the FIR was very limited and undefined.
The drama unfolded in parallel in the court building when one of the lawyers, who identified himself as Ashutosh Shrivastav, claimed that he would represent Goyal.
He submitted his Vakalatnama with the alleged signature of Siya before the court. However, Sia and her family informed the court that Vipul Dusheng is representing her.
While seeking remand in police custody of Chaudhary and his alleged accomplice Siya Goyal, Agarwal’s fiancée, the police told the court that further investigation was needed in several aspects, including establishing the exact place where the crime took place in the fort and tracing Agarwal’s missing passport. The court extended the detention of the accused until next July 3.
Ketan Agarwal and Sia Goyal got engaged in February this year with his uncle acting as matchmaker. Goyal also belongs to a wealthy business family in Pune. However, unknown to the Agarwal family, she was allegedly in a relationship with Chetan Chaudhary, 22, whose family runs a business in the same commercial area where Goyal’s father lives.
Agarwal and Goyal were scheduled to get married in November this year, with hotels already booked in Udaipur for the wedding.
