PUNE: Ritesh Hange, a friend of arrested suspect Chetan Choudhary, was arrested on Friday night for allegedly conspiring to murder Ketan Agarwal.“Hange was part of the conspiracy. He was arrested from Pune for his role in the case,” said Sandeep Singh Gill, superintendent of police (SP), Pune Rural.Hange, 22, was produced before a court on Saturday and remanded in police custody till September 12.“Hange is a BBA graduate and hails from Beed. He has been living in Pune city for the past few years and works with a construction company,” additional SP of Pune Rural Shubham Kumar said.Kumar said Hange was a close friend of Chetan and was allegedly involved in the conspiracy to murder Ketan.Hange is the third suspect arrested in the Ketan Agarwal, 26, murder case.Ketan’s fiancée, Siya Goyal, 20, and Chetan, who was allegedly in a relationship with Siya, were arrested earlier.According to police, Hange was in contact with both Siya and Chetan before Ketan’s murder.Police had earlier detained and questioned him in connection with the case. Siya and Chetan are currently in judicial custody.Police said Siya and Chetan allegedly discussed their plan to murder Ketan with Hange.The duo had also urged him to accompany them on a trek to Lohagad. However, Hange did not join them on June 18, the day Ketan was allegedly pushed off a cliff and killed.Police said Chetan met Hange soon after the murder, while Siya also allegedly spoke to him about the incident. Hange had been in contact with Chetan since the last week of May.Ketan, a resident of Gahunje and a member of a construction business family, died after allegedly being pushed from Lohagad Fort on June 18.Siya had got engaged to Ketan on February 19 this year.Initially, she allegedly passed off his death as an accident, claiming that he had slipped and fallen into a gorge at the fort. However, the Pune Rural police investigation later uncovered the alleged murder conspiracy.Police claimed Ketan was pushed from the fort as part of a murder plot allegedly orchestrated by Siya, a resident of Market Yard, and her boyfriend, Chetan.The two had been in a relationship since October last year.According to police, Siya and Chetan decided to eliminate Ketan to make way for their relationship.The investigation revealed that Siya allegedly thwarted Ketan’s pre-wedding shoot in Bali by stealing and discarding his passport. She also allegedly made an earlier attempt to kill Ketan at Lohagad Fort, but failed.Following the failed attempt, Siya and Chetan allegedly conducted practice sessions to push Ketan off a cliff on a hill near Gangadham Chowk.
