As the investigation into the alleged murder of 25-year-old Ketan Agarwal begins, police are investigating the behavior of the arrested accused – Ketan’s fiancée Siya Goyal, 20, and her boyfriend Chetan Chaudhary, 22.
Police say Siya and Chetan met at a cafe in Kondhwa in Pune the day before Ketan was pushed off a cliff at Lohagad Fort on June 18. Surveillance camera footage shows them talking casually for more than 90 minutes in the café.
Investigators say an examination of Sia’s mobile phone also revealed that she searched for information about Lohagad Fort and watched videos of various locations in the fort before sharing the details with Chetan.
Read also | Siya’s family breaks their silence about Ketan’s murder: “Push the guilty party from the same stronghold, even if it is my daughter”
The police and the Agarwal family are baffled by Sia’s behaviour, which mirrors that of an excited bride while she seems to be hiding a chilling plan underneath. The two families had arranged a wedding in November, unaware that Sia was already in a relationship and was allegedly desperate to prevent her marriage to Ketan.
Vishal Agarwal, Ketan’s father, says the family never suspected anything was wrong with Sia. Recalling the encounter between the two families at a five-star hotel in Pune, he said, “She was very polite and graceful. She touched the feet of all the elders of our family.”
Both Ketan and Siya come from wealthy families. While the Agarwals are one of the largest warehouse developers in Maharashtra, Siya also hails from a wealthy business family in Pune.
Vishal Agarwal says Sia seemed excited about the wedding preparations. “She visited our home often and was actively involved in the engagement and wedding preparations. In fact, she and Ketan planned a big pre-wedding photo shoot in Bali, even though Ketan’s mother was not in favor of it initially,” he said.
However, things are already starting to unravel. Police are now examining an incident in which Siya allegedly hid Ketan’s passport at a food mall in Khalapur on his way to Mumbai, from where they were scheduled to fly to Bali. Investigators believe Sia was trying to sabotage the trip.
Unable to come to terms with his son’s death, Agarwal said: “You can see videos and pictures on social media. Ketan used to express his love for her. They would often go for picnics, have lunch and dinner. Everything seemed normal to us.”
And remember the now-viral Instagram story that Siya posted after Ketan’s death, which is a collection of romantic moments shared by the couple. “But the girl herself looked completely different on the day of Ketan’s funeral. She seemed completely normal and did not show any obvious signs of sadness,” Agarwal said.
It has only been a few days since Ketan’s death turned into a murder investigation, and Seiya was the prime suspect. Her mother, Pooja Goyal, is still in shock. “Kitan meant more to me than my son. Whoever is found guilty should get maximum punishment, even if it is my daughter,” Pooja told a news portal.
Forensic psychologists say such cases require careful examination of relationships, circumstances and patterns of decision-making. Clinical psychologist Rujuta Deshmankar said: “If these allegations are proven, the case raises questions about how a person manages two conflicting realities – one in public and one in private.”
Read also | Ketan Agarwal’s Murder: Inside Chetan ‘Friend’ Sia’s 640-Minute Strategy That Backfired
She said family expectations, fear of social consequences and interpersonal relationships may need to be considered while understanding such behaviour.
As the investigation continued, police found that Sia and Chetan, a BBA graduate and resident of Kondhwa, exchanged more than 2,000 phone calls between January and mid-June. They are studying the nature of these conversations and their movements before Ketan’s death.
On Wednesday, police questioned Neeraj Kumar, an employee at Chetan’s grocery store in Market Yard. It appears that Chetan was carrying Neeraj’s mobile phone on the day Ketan died, while he was leaving his phone in the store.
But Chetan’s father refuses to believe that his son is complicit in the alleged murder. “Chetan did not push the boy (Ketan) and was standing far away,” Babulal Chaudhary said. He claims that his son was falsely implicated.
