PUNE: With no eyewitnesses yet in the alleged murder of Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal at Lohagad Fort, police are increasingly relying on forensic techniques, digital evidence and statements recorded during the probe to strengthen their case against arrested accused Siya Goyal and her alleged lover Chetan Chaudhary.Police have moved a court seeking permission to conduct polygraph (lie detector) tests on Goyal and Chaudhary, while also planning a gait analysis of Chaudhary to establish his presence near the crime scene through CCTV footage.Officials said a polygraph test records physiological responses such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration and perspiration while a subject answers questions related to the case. Investigators believe the tests could help corroborate other evidence collected during the probe.The police are also set to conduct a gait analysis on Chaudhary. The forensic technique studies an individual’s manner of walking or running and is often used to identify suspects captured on CCTV footage.Investigators compare characteristics such as posture, stride length, hand movement, head tilt, weight distribution and foot angle to establish identity. The procedure typically requires a subject to walk at least 10 consecutive steps without assistance for an effective evaluation.Police believe the analysis could help confirm Chaudhary’s presence around Lohagad Fort on June 18 and strengthen the case against him and Goyal.Goyal, 20, and Chaudhary, 22, were arrested for allegedly conspiring to murder Agarwal, 25, by pushing him off a cliff at Lohagad Fort in Pune district on June 18. Both are currently in police custody till July 3.The investigation has also brought renewed focus on concerns allegedly raised by Agarwal before his death. According to the FIR lodged by his father, Vishal Agarwal, Ketan had repeatedly expressed doubts about Siya Goyal’s behaviour and suspected she was having an affair with Chaudhary.The FIR states that after the couple’s engagement, Ketan told his father that Siya had been troubling him over “different small issues.”“Siya has been troubling me for the last one month over different small issues. Since she is younger, I thought she was behaving this way and did not pay much attention to it,” Ketan reportedly told his father, according to the FIR.The complaint further states that on June 5, Siya allegedly insisted on visiting Lohagad Fort with Ketan. After returning from the trip, Ketan again questioned his father about whether Siya’s background had been properly verified before their marriage was fixed.
The FIR states:
“After Ketan and Siya returned from Lohagad Fort, I again asked Ketan whether he had taken complete information about Siya. I also asked him about Siya’s phone calls and whether she spoke continuously on the phone while being with him.”According to the FIR, Ketan allegedly told his father that Chaudhary frequently called Siya and that he believed the two shared a close relationship.“My younger brother Vijay Agarwal also told me that he had doubts about Siya and Chetan’s relationship. However, my daughter-in-law Rakhi Agarwal told us that there was nothing like that and tried to convince us,” the FIR states.Police said the Agarwal family initially dismissed Ketan’s concerns because Siya’s marriage proposal had come through a trusted family connection. The match was arranged through Narendra Mittal, who introduced Siya as his brother-in-law’s daughter. Mittal’s sister is married to Praveen Goyal, making him Siya’s maternal uncle and also a cousin of Vishal Agarwal.The FIR further states that on the night of June 17, Siya allegedly called Ketan over WhatsApp and insisted on visiting Lohagad Fort again the following morning.Ketan informed his mother, Rakhi Agarwal, about the plan.According to the FIR, Rakhi advised the couple against revisiting the fort.“You have already visited Lohagad earlier, so do not go again.”The FIR alleges that Siya insisted on the trip and argued with Rakhi. Rakhi then contacted Siya’s father, who reportedly assured her that he would ask his daughter not to go.However, according to the complaint, Siya called Ketan again on the morning of June 18 saying she was ready for the trip.At around 10. 45am, the FIR states, Siya’s mother Puja Goyal informed Rakhi Agarwal over phone:“Ketan has fallen from Lohagad Fort. You should immediately come to Lohagad.”Ketan’s family rushed to the fort, where police and local residents were already conducting a search. He was later found in the valley and taken to hospital, where doctors declared him dead before treatment.The FIR states that on June 21, Vishal Agarwal, his brother Vijay Agarwal and others revisited the spot from where Ketan had fallen. After inspecting the location, the family concluded that the terrain was too dangerous for an accidental fall.
The complaint states:
“Therefore, I suspect that my son Ketan Agarwal, aged 26 years, was murdered by his fiancée Siya Pavan Goyal… and her boyfriend Chetan Chaudhary (full details not known).”The FIR further alleges that Goyal and Chaudhary conspired and pushed Ketan into the valley at around 10. 45am on June 18, causing his death.Police sources also said that after the couple’s planned pre-wedding trip to Bali, Indonesia, was cancelled on June 6, Ketan again complained to his father that Siya frequently argued with him over minor issues.Investigators have also alleged that on June 14, four days before Ketan’s death, the couple had visited the same spot at Lohagad Fort. According to police, Siya allegedly attempted to push Ketan from the cliff during that visit, but he managed to grab a bush and save himself. When he questioned her, police claim Siya raised a false alarm about a snake and projected herself as having rescued him.Police sources further said Ketan later told his father that Siya’s phone was often busy when he tried calling her and that she frequently spoke about Chaudhary, leading him to suspect that the two were having an affair. His family, however, continued to reassure him that Siya belonged to their extended family and that her background had been properly verified.The investigation into the alleged murder is continuing.(With agency inputs)
