Ketan Agarwal Murder Case: The chilling murder of 25-year-old real estate businessman Ketan Agarwal has sent shockwaves across the country. What initially looked like a tragic trekking accident at historic Lohagad Fort in Maharashtra's Pune has unravelled into a pre-planned murder plot. Police have arrested Ketan's 20-year-old fiancee, Siya Goyal, and her 22-year-old accomplice, Chetan Choudhary, naming them as the prime accused in the case.
As the investigation intensifies, with police recreating the incident at the Lohagad Fort, shocking details have emerged about how Chetan and Siya planned Ketan's murder, attempted it multiple times, and almost managed to stage it as an accident.
From the very beginning, both Siya and Chetan focused heavily on evading the police. Investigators revealed that on the day of the incident, Chetan Choudhary intentionally left his mobile phone at his shop in Pune's Market Yard. To avoid digital tracking while heading to the murder scene, he carried a mobile phone belonging to one of his shop employees. Police are currently interrogating that employee to determine how much they knew about the plot.
A Calculated Plot to Murder
According to the police, Siya Goyal and Chetan Choudhary had been actively brainstorming ways to eliminate Ketan for days. They initially scoured the internet for various methods, including how to secretly administer poison.
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However, they decided against poisoning and chose a secluded cliffside at Lohagad Fort instead. The plan was simple, push Ketan into a deep gorge from a spot so remote that anyone would assume he slipped and fell.
What Happened the Day Ketan Died: Timeline
- 08:30 AM: June 18 was Siya Goyal's birthday. A day prior, she repeatedly insisted on going trekking at Lohagad Fort. Yielding to her requests, Ketan and Siya left their residence in Gahunje at around 8:30 AM.
- 09:30 AM: Police tracking shows that the couple drove down and reached the base of Lohagad Fort between 9:00 AM and 9:30 AM, after which they began their trek up the fort.
- Chetan Choudhary had already arrived at the fort on a two-wheeler ahead of the couple. He had previously scouted the area to find a completely isolated spot, where they could execute the crime in silence.
- 10:30 AM: Once they reached the designated secluded spot, Siya and Chetan allegedly blindsided Ketan, pushing him off the cliff into a 400-foot-deep gorge. Police estimate that Ketan died instantly at around 10:30 AM.
- Local security personnel and the Lonavla Rural Police launched a gruelling search operation. It took them nearly three hours to descend into the treacherous gorge and recover Ketan's body.
- In the immediate aftermath of the fall, Siya attempted to cement the accident narrative. She alerted family members and locals, weeping and painting herself as a traumatised, grieving fiancee.
Three Failed Prior Attempts
The investigation further revealed that the June 17 trek was actually the duo's fourth attempt to kill Ketan. They had tried and failed three times before.
May 31 (First Attempt): Siya successfully pushed Ketan into a gorge at Lohagad Fort during an earlier visit. However, Ketan miraculously survived by landing in a thick patch of bushes. When a startled Ketan questioned her, Siya covered her tracks by claiming she pushed him aggressively only to save him from a nearby snake.
June 4 (Second Attempt): The duo set up a second trap at the fort, but the plan fell through when Ketan's mother refused to give him permission to go out that day.
June 14 (Third Attempt): Siya managed to lure Ketan back to Lohagad Fort for a third time. However, because it was a Sunday, the fort was heavily crowded with tourists. Fearing eyewitnesses, they chose to abort the plan at the last minute.
Chetan's Hoodie in 33°C Heat Alerted Police
The breakthrough in the case came from CCTV footage at the fort's ticket counter. The footage captured Ketan and Siya walking together, with a third individual trailing closely a few meters behind them. Despite the sweltering 33°C summer heat, this third man was wearing shorts and a heavy hoodie.
He had pulled the hood far down over his face and was wearing a large headset to completely obscure his identity from cameras and passersby. The probe also revealed that Choudhary spent less than 10 minutes at the top of the fort. He managed to complete the entire ascent and descent in under 50 minutes.
How Investigation Exposed The Plot
While local authorities initially registered a routine case of accidental death, the anomalies quickly added up. A deeper dive into digital forensics turned the accident report into a full-blown premeditated murder investigation.
During the interrogation, the police brought both suspects into the same room to confront them with the evidence. Under pressure, the two began accusing each other of masterminding the entire conspiracy. Siya Goyal and Chetan Choudhary were formally arrested on June 23 and remain in police custody.
2,004 Calls And Cafe Meetup
The sheer scale of the conspiracy is backed by overwhelming digital evidence. Call Detail Records (CDR) retrieved by the police show that the two suspects had been in constant communication for months. Over six months, they exchanged 2,004 phone calls, logging roughly 238 hours of talk time.
Police further cemented their suspicion after a CCTV footage showed that Siya and Chetan met at a local cafe in Pune to finalise the plan of the murder just 24 hours before Ketan was pushed to his death.