A 26-year-old Pune-based businessman, initially believed to have died in a tragic accident at Lohagad Fort, has now become the focus of a murder investigation after police alleged that he was pushed off a cliff by his fiancée and her friend.
The victim, Ketan Vishal Agarwal, a director in his family's real estate firm and a resident of Gahunje near Pune, had visited Lohagad Fort in Maval tehsil on June 18, 2026, along with his fiancée and two friends. The group had reportedly gone to the historic fort to celebrate the fiancée's upcoming birthday, Hindustan Times reported.
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According to the initial police account, the incident occurred on June 19 when Agarwal allegedly slipped while taking photographs near the edge of a cliff amid strong winds. He fell nearly 400 feet into a gorge.
A rescue operation lasting several hours was carried out by local police and emergency rescue teams, after which his body was recovered. An accidental death report was initially registered, and a routine inquiry was launched, according to the reports.
However, the case took a dramatic turn during the investigation. Police officials later stated that new findings suggested the fall was not accidental. Investigators now allege that Agarwal's fiancée and her male friend conspired to kill him and deliberately pushed him off the cliff, attempting to stage the incident as a mishap.
Following this development, both suspects have been detained and are being interrogated as part of an active murder investigation.
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Following the accident, police and the Shivdurg Mitra Emergency Rescue Team launched a highly difficult operation to recover a young man's body from the valley.
Navigating steep terrain and dense vegetation, these rescuers spent nearly three hours battling the treacherous environment to successfully retrieve the victim from the deep gorge, as per the India Today.
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