The alleged murder of Pune businessman Ketan Agarwal, in which his fiancée Siya Goyal has been arrested, continues to draw attention as investigators uncover details of what police describe as a meticulously planned crime. As the investigation has progressed, officials believe the case bears striking similarities to the killing of Raja Raghuvanshi, whose wife Sonam Raghuvanshi is accused of orchestrating his murder.
According to police officers familiar with the investigation, both victims were allegedly pushed off cliffs by people close to them. Investigators suspect that Siya Goyal and her alleged accomplice and boyfriend, Chetan Chaudhary, may have drawn lessons from the planning behind the Raja Raghuvanshi murder while devising their own plot.
Speaking to NDTV, police officers involved in the probe described the investigation as one that required dismantling multiple layers of carefully constructed alibis before reaching what they believe was the truth behind Ketan Agarwal's death.
Investigators said the case reached a turning point only after what they described as an investigative breakthrough. Although a confession made while in police custody has limited evidentiary value, they noted that such statements often help investigators identify and collect supporting evidence in murder cases.
Police compared the progression of the case to the narrative style of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, saying the alleged murder plot unfolded much like the thought process they believe existed in Siya Goyal's mind, moving between internal deliberation and external actions. According to investigators, she viewed murder as the only means of avoiding marriage to Ketan Agarwal.
When asked whether Siya Goyal possessed what could be described as a criminal mindset, an officer associated with the investigation told NDTV: "It was a crime of desperation. Personal relations and her thinking process led to her believe this was the way to go about it. The transactional element between families also played a role in her decision."
The officer further said, "Multiple factors contributed to Siya's decision to kill Chetan and family and societal beliefs was definitely one of them. But it went beyond that and the investigation suggests there was not one factor but a combination of several factors that triggered her decision to eliminate Ketan Agrawal."
Highlighting what investigators believe was deliberate planning, another police officer told NDTV, "In that sense, there was intention to commit crime, and they went through with it, plotting alibis to escape detection, trial and hopefully conviction."
Police also said that neither Siya Goyal nor Chetan Chaudhary has shown remorse during the investigation.
"Time in jail usually breaks the most hardened criminals and perhaps with the duo now being in judicial custody, realisation with dawn on them as they spend time in jail," the officer hoped.
Investigators believe sustained interrogation proved crucial to solving the case, adding that the accused may otherwise have escaped suspicion. While Ketan Agarwal's family reportedly questioned the theory that his death was accidental, investigators also became suspicious because the location from which he fell at Lohagad Fort was not considered among the trek's most dangerous points.
The probe has also led police to believe the accused conducted extensive online research while planning the alleged murder. Investigators claim they found evidence suggesting that Siya Goyal had read news reports about the Raja Raghuvanshi murder, in which Sonam Raghuvanshi is accused of planning and executing the killing of her husband in Meghalaya.
Police, however, pointed to differences between the two cases. While Raja Raghuvanshi's body was allegedly thrown into a gorge after he was killed on a remote trek, investigators believe Ketan Agarwal was pushed off the cliff by both Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary together.
According to police, the alleged plan involved both accused physically pushing Agarwal because investigators believe Siya Goyal alone might not have had sufficient strength to ensure he fell into the gorge.
Investigators also said that the browsing history recovered from a mobile phone seized from Siya Goyal indicated she had searched for details relating to the Raja Raghuvanshi murder. They further claimed she looked up whether women are beaten in police custody and searched for information on the rights of female prisoners.
A second mobile phone recovered from the Goyal residence has been sent for forensic examination, with investigators expecting it could reveal additional details about the alleged planning and execution of the crime.
Reacting to the developments, Raja Raghuvanshi's mother, Uma Raghuvanshi, said the Ketan Agarwal case reminded her of the killing of her son. She alleged that, like the accused in her son's case, those arrested in the Pune murder had shown no remorse for their actions.
Uma Raghuvanshi also expressed concern that Sonam Raghuvanshi being out on bail while the Raja Raghuvanshi murder trial continues in Shillong could embolden accused persons in similar cases.
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