After allegedly planning and carrying out the murder of Pune businessman Ketan Agarwal to pave the way for their relationship, the two main accused – his fiancée Sia Goyal and her alleged lover Chetan Choudhary – turned against each other during police interrogation, with each trying to pin the conspiracy on the other.
Detectives investigating the June 18 murder said the blame game appeared to be part of the duo’s defense strategy. However, police maintain that the evidence collected so far points to a deliberate conspiracy in which both played active roles.
Each blames the other for the murder plot
According to Pune Rural Police, Chetan initially claimed that he wanted to elope with Siya Goyal and that killing Ketan was her idea. On the other hand, Siya allegedly told investigators that it was Chetan who devised the plan and even collapsed after they failed to kill Ketan during an earlier visit to Lohagad Fort on June 14.
“At first, they both tried to blame each other, which is a common trend among criminals during interrogation.
However, Sia eventually admitted that she had hatched the conspiracy and that Chetan was also involved in the planning.”
Chetan initially claimed that although he was at the fort, he never reached the spot where Ketan was pushed into the valley and did not know what happened, police said.
However, investigators said his account did not match the evidence, after which both eventually confessed to their respective roles and narrated the sequence of events.
Preset signal before killer push
Investigators said the murder was carried out according to a pre-planned scenario. As per the plan, Siya had to give a signal to Chetan to sit.
Once she did so, Chetan allegedly approached from behind and pushed the unsuspecting Ketan off the cliff.
“They told us what happened and how it happened. Ketan had no idea what was going to happen. He was pushed into the valley before he realized anything,” a police official said.
When asked why they did not simply run away instead of killing Ketan, both defendants allegedly told investigators that escaping together would have damaged their families’ reputations.
The case relates to the June 18 death of 25-year-old businessman Ketan Agarwal, who was allegedly pushed into a gorge in Lohagad Fort near Pune.
Sia initially claimed that Ketan accidentally slipped while taking photos, and the death was initially treated as an accident before an investigation uncovered evidence pointing to murder.
Months of planning, and failed attempts
The investigation revealed that Sia and Chetan were in a relationship since October 2025 after they met during Diwali celebrations, police said. Despite getting engaged to Ketan on February 19, Sia allegedly did not want to marry him.
Investigators said that the duo made several failed attempts to kill Ketan before they succeeded on June 18.
Sia allegedly first tried to push Ketan out of the fort on May 31, but he escaped after seizing the plants. She claimed she pushed him to save him from a snake.
The police also said that Sia repeatedly tried to convince Ketan to visit Lohagad Fort again. One planned visit on 4 June did not take place after his mother refused permission, while another attempt on 14 June allegedly failed.
The investigation also revealed that Siya sabotaged the planned pre-wedding photo shoot in Bali by stealing Ketan’s passport to ensure the trip was cancelled.
According to investigators, analysis of call detail records showed that Siya and Chetan exchanged more than 2,000 calls over the past year while their relationship continued in secret.
Ketan and Sia got engaged on February 19 after their families met at a wedding in Karnataka earlier that month. They were due to marry later this year in a palace wedding in Udaipur, Rajasthan, where two charter flights were reportedly booked for guests. Police said Sia did not want to go ahead with the marriage.
Digital evidence strengthens the case
On the day of the murder, police alleged that Siya met Chetan at a cafe before taking Ketan to Lohagad Fort. CCTV footage later showed a masked man, allegedly Chetan, following the couple to the fort despite the hot weather, raising investigators’ suspicions.
Police also found digital evidence, including internet searches allegedly done by the accused on ways to kill someone before the murder. Investigators say electronic trail, CCTV footage, forensic evidence and witness statements collectively prove the killing was a carefully planned plot rather than a spontaneous act.
Sia and Chetan were arrested on June 23 and are in police custody while the investigation continues.
