Pune realtor murder: Fiancée and lover made 2,000 calls, met secretly before fatal push, say police
Pune Rural Police have unraveled a sinister murder plot after a 26-year-old realtor was allegedly pushed off Lohagad Fort by his fiancée and her lover. Technical data revealed the duo exchanged 2,004 calls before executing the fatal plot
Pune: Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal’s fiancée Siya Goyal and her lover Chetan Chaudhary remained in constant touch for nearly six months, exchanging a staggering 2,004 calls and spending 238 hours on the phone, before allegedly pushing him to death off the Lohagad Fort, police said.
Investigators suspect the extensive communication was part of the planning that led to the killing of 26-year-old Agarwal on June 18.
On the day of the incident, Goyal and Chaudhary allegedly met at a cafe and discussed the plan to eliminate Agarwal, even identifying a suitable spot on the fort from where he could be pushed, a police official said on Wednesday.
In a deadly twist to what would have been a dream wedding, police on Tuesday said Agarwal was allegedly pushed into the gorge by Goyal (20) and Chaudhary (22), who have been arrested.
A detailed analysis of call records and CCTV footage helped Pune Rural Police unravel the alleged conspiracy behind the murder.
“The duo (Goyal and Chaudhary) exchanged 2,004 phone calls and spent around 238 hours speaking to each other during the last six months. Some of the calls between them lasted for more than 2 to 3 hours,” Pune (Rural) Superintendent of Police Sandip Singh Gill said.
Police suspect the extensive communication was part of the planning that culminated in the murder.
“The probe has also revealed that on the day of the incident, Goyal and Chaudhary allegedly met at a cafe before heading to Lohagad Fort and discussed the plan to eliminate Agarwal.
“During the meeting, the two allegedly identified a suitable spot on the fort from where Agarwal could be pushed into the valley and worked out the details of the execution of the plan,” said Gill.
Goyal and Chaudhary have been remanded to police custody.
According to the police, both Goyal and Chaudhary viewed Agarwal as an obstacle in their relationship and decided to eliminate him.
A police official said Goyal had sabotaged their plan to visit Bali for a pre-wedding photoshoot by misplacing Agarwal’s passport while on the way to Mumbai airport on June 6.
“Our probe showed that after stealing the passport from the car at the food mall at Khalapur, Siya Goyal dumped it in the women’s washroom. While we are probing the murder, a team will also be sent to the mall to see if the passport can be retrieved,” senior police inspector Dinesh Tayde told PTI.
He said Goyal and Agarwal got engaged in February and were scheduled to get married in a grand wedding ceremony at Udaipur in November, for which a palace had been booked.
“During inquiries with Ketan’s sister, Sanjana, and other family members, we came to know that Goyal had repeatedly persuaded Agarwal to accompany her to Lohagad Fort on multiple occasions before the fatal incident.
“On May 31, Goyal had taken Agarwal to Lohagad Fort. She again insisted that he go to Lohagad Fort on June 4. However, Agarwal’s mother did not allow him to go there a second time,” the official said.
Goyal once again insisted that Agarwal go to Lohagad on June 14. On that day, she allegedly tried to push him off the cliff. However, he managed to hold on to a bush. When Agarwal wondered why he had been pushed, she raised a false alarm about a snake and tried to make it appear that she had protected him, the official said.
Following these developments, investigators widened the probe and analysed technical evidence, including call detail records and digital communication data, he added.
On Wednesday, SP Gill visited the crime scene and reviewed the probe.
Chaudhary was identified through CCTV footage, which showed him wearing a hoodie and trailing Agarwal and Goyal at Lohagad Fort.
Police found it unusual that the man was wearing a hoodie despite the temperature being around 33 degrees Celsius, and his overall suspicious movements prompted them to probe Agarwal’s death further.
Meanwhile, Chaudhary’s lawyer Ram Shahane said his client had been implicated in the case.
“The FIR does not specifically describe his role in the alleged offence. It merely states that he is the boyfriend of the main accused, and on that basis, he has been implicated in the case. We raised the same pleading during the first remand, at the time of his first production before the court,” he said.
Chetan Chaudhary’s father, Babulal Chaudhary, also claimed that his son is innocent and alleged that Goyal is trying to frame him in the case to save herself.
“We have been told that Chetan was standing way far from Siya and Ketan when the incident took place. My son is not like that,” he said.
“We do not know why Chetan was present at the spot at Lohgad Fort on that day. He did not tell us why he went there,” he said.
“My son is not involved in the case. He is innocent,” he said, adding that he did not know whether his son and Goyal were having an affair.
Agarwal, a resident of Gahunje in Pune district, was a director and chief marketing officer of Success Group, the family-run real estate business. He had done an MS in Entrepreneurship, while Goyal held a degree in commerce from a private college.
