Fiancée, Boyfriend Blame Each Other in Lohagad Fort Murder Case

PUNE: During custodial interrogation, Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary blamed each other for masterminding the murder of Ketan Agrawal. According to a Pune Rural police officer, Goyal told investigators that she had informed Agrawal she did not want to marry him, but he was unwilling to call off the engagement. She alleged that Chaudhary then devised a plan to eliminate Agrawal. Chaudhary, however, claimed that Goyal pressured him into carrying out the killing. "Investigations so far indicate that the entire conspiracy was hatched by Goyal," the officer said. Agrawal, a 25-year-old director of a real-estate firm, died after falling into a gorge at Lohagad Fort in Maval taluka. The case was initially registered as an accidental death, but investigators later arrested his fiancée, Goyal, and her boyfriend, Chaudhary, after uncovering evidence of a murder plot. Pune Rural superintendent of police Sandeep Singh Gill said that Agrawal was a frequent trekker. On May 31, Goyal accompanied him to Lohagad Fort and allegedly identified a spot near the Vinchu Kata ridge where the crime could be carried out. Police said Goyal attempted to take Ketan to the fort again on June 4, but the trip did not materialise after his mother objected. Gill said that on June 14, Goyal allegedly tried to push Agrawal off the cliff, but he survived by grabbing onto a bush. She reportedly convinced him the incident was accidental and regained his trust. Four days later, on June 18, Goyal allegedly returned to the fort with Agrawal and, with Chaudhary's assistance, pushed him into a 350-foot-deep gorge, killing him. Investigators also claim that Goyal discarded Agrawal's passport on June 6 as part of preparations for the crime. Police have recorded the statement of an employee at Chaudhary's store, who told investigators that Chaudhary left his own cellphone behind on June 18 and carried the employee's phone to Lohagad Fort. Meanwhile, CCTV footage recovered from a Pune cafe allegedly shows Goyal and Chaudhary meeting between May 31 and June 4. Police are questioning the pair about the purpose of those meetings. As part of the ongoing probe, a Pune Rural police team took Goyal to Lohagad Fort on Thursday for a reconstruction of events. A forensic team also visited the site to collect evidence.