A new detail has emerged in the murder case of Pune businessman Ketan Agarwal, whose death at Lohagad Fort in June was initially treated as an accidental fall but is now alleged by police to have been a planned killing, according to NDTV.
Ketan's father, Vishal Agarwal, told the media that his son had got his fiancée Siya Goyal's name tattooed on his neck as a surprise birthday gift for her. According to the family, Ketan was also planning a birthday celebration for Siya in Mahabaleshwar on June 19, a day after his death.
Vishal said the family had been preparing for Siya's birthday and the couple's wedding and had no indication that anything was wrong. He said the family had bought 28 dresses of Siya's choice and 15 sets of gold jewellery as part of the engagement preparations. Ketan and Siya got engaged in February and were scheduled to marry later this year.
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The tattoo revelation comes days after Pune Rural Police filed a 5,053-page chargesheet in the case before the Vadgaon Maval court. The chargesheet names Siya Goyal, Chetan Chaudhary and Ritesh Hange as accused and contains witness statements, WhatsApp chats, photographs, mobile phone data, call detail records and technical analysis material, India Today reported. All three accused are in custody, according to reports citing the chargesheet.
One of the key allegations in the chargesheet concerns a fake Instagram account named "Mahi". Pune Rural Police allege that the account was created by Siya, Chetan and Ritesh and was used to communicate with Ketan while posing as one of Siya's friends.
Police allege that Ketan was persuaded through the account to visit Lohagad Fort on June 18 on the pretext of a surprise connected with Siya's birthday. The account was allegedly deleted after the murder, but investigators recovered the chats through technical analysis, India Today reported.
According to reports citing the chargesheet, investigators also found evidence suggesting that the accused had previously attempted to harm Ketan at Lohagad. Police allege that Ketan was taken to the fort on June 14, when an earlier attempt was made to push him off a cliff. He reportedly managed to hold on to a bush and survived.
According to the police version cited in the chargesheet, Ketan and Siya reached Lohagad Fort at around 9 am on June 18. Chetan was allegedly already at the location and was wearing a disguise. NDTV reported that the chargesheet alleges Chetan pushed Ketan from behind while Siya kicked him in the leg, causing him to fall into the gorge.
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The chargesheet reportedly contains statements from around 80-85 witnesses. NDTV reported that one eyewitness allegedly received a threat to remain silent after witnessing the incident. Photographs taken by tourists at Lohagad Fort on June 18 are also cited as evidence. The images allegedly captured Ketan, Siya and Chetan in the background and were submitted to the court as part of the chargesheet.
The chargesheet also reportedly contains allegations that the accused researched previous murder cases and methods of avoiding detection.
Police arrested Siya and Chetan on June 23, five days after Ketan's death. Ritesh Hange was arrested later, on September 5, for his alleged role in the conspiracy.
The allegations made in the chargesheet are yet to be tested during judicial proceedings. The filing of a chargesheet does not by itself establish the guilt of the accused.
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