A court in Pune on Monday, June 29, extended the police custody of Siya Goyal and co-accused Chetan Chaudhary in the realtor Ketan Agarwal murder case till July 3. Siya Goyal (20) and Chetan Chaudhary (22) have been arrested for allegedly conspiring to kill 25-year-old Ketan Agarwal and pushing him off a cliff at the Lohagad Fort in Pune district on June 18.
The duo was produced before the court of A M Vibhute in Vadgaon Maval after their initial police custody ended on Monday.
Why Pune Cops Sought the Custody of Siya Goyal, Chetan Chaudhary
The prosecution sought an extension of custody, highlighting the need for probing aspects like the exact spot of the crime on a fort and a missing passport.
Seeking the extension of the custody, the prosecution told the court that the investigation has shown that the accused had visited the fort to find a suitable spot to kill Agarwal and that the police want to identify the locations where the alleged rehearsals were conducted.
The police also want to interrogate Goyal about where she dumped the passport of Agarwal while going to Mumbai on June 6, said Assistant Public Prosecutor Rajashri Virkud.
Siya Gave Signal, Chetan Pushed Ketan: Chilling Details In Pune Murder Case
Siya Goyal was to give a signal by sitting down, following which Chetan Chaudhary was to come up and push an unsuspecting Ketan Agarwal to his death, an official told news agency PTI. They executed the plan perfectly, he said.
The two had decided that Siya would either sit down to drink water or on the pretext of tying her shoelaces. The sitting down was the signal and was also a well-thought-out move to protect Goyal, the official said.
“The signal was chosen deliberately so that Goyal would not be within the victim’s reach during the fatal push. They feared that if Chetan pushed Ketan and the latter tried to grab Siya while falling, she too could fall into the gorge. The plan was made keeping her safety in mind,” he said.
The investigators have found that Chaudhary cautiously took several steps to avoid leaving evidence on the day of the alleged murder, including choosing a scooter over a car to travel to Lohagad Fort, in order to avoid being traced through toll plaza records; and changing his appearance after reaching the site.
According to police, Chaudhary returned to Pune on the same scooter after allegedly carrying out the crime.
He also changed his appearance. “He climbed the fort wearing a hoodie. Later, he removed it and remained in a black T-shirt. While leaving, he put on the hoodie again,” the official said, adding that investigators believe it was done to avoid attracting attention.
(With PTI inputs)