Pune: Two People Who Tried To Stop Ketan Agarwal Murder Plan Named As Witnesses

Pune: Two people who came to know about the alleged plan to murder Ketan Agarwal at Lohagad Fort had tried to prevent the accused from carrying it out, the Pune Rural police investigation has found. The two, one known to accused Ritesh Hange and the other linked to Ketan’s fiancée Siya Goyal, have now been made witnesses in the case.

Their statements have been recorded and included in the 5,053-page chargesheet filed by the Pune Rural police against Siya Goyal (20), Chetan Chaudhary (22) and Hange (22), police sources said.

According to investigators, the two witnesses had knowledge of the alleged plan and separately tried to convince the accused not to go ahead with it. The person known to Hange, who currently lives outside Maharashtra, was allegedly contacted for help in harming Ketan but instead tried to dissuade the accused.

The second witness is linked to Siya and also made attempts to stop the alleged plan, police said.

Fake Instagram Account Used To Lure Ketan

The investigation into Ketan’s June 18 death at Lohagad Fort initially treated the incident as an accident. Police later alleged that his death was part of a planned conspiracy involving Siya and Chetan.

Investigators have alleged that a fake Instagram account was created using the name of a fictitious friend of Siya, identified as “Mahi”. The account was allegedly used to communicate with Ketan and convince him to visit Lohagad on June 18, a day before Siya’s birthday.

Siya and Chetan were arrested on June 23, while Hange was arrested on September 5 for his alleged role in the conspiracy. All three are currently in judicial custody.

The police have also invoked provisions of the Information Technology Act in the case.

Deleted Chats, Earlier Rehearsal Under Probe

The investigation also found that several chats and other communications were allegedly deleted after Ketan’s death. The accused persons’ phones were sent for cyber-forensic analysis, and police said deleted data recovered from the devices provided evidence against Hange.

Police have further alleged that Siya and Chetan rehearsed the alleged murder plan several days before Ketan’s death. The rehearsal was reportedly carried out in an open area near a club lounge in Lulla Nagar.

Ketan and Siya had got engaged on February 19 and were expected to marry later this year. Police have alleged that Siya was in a relationship with Chetan since October last year and did not want to proceed with her marriage to Ketan.

Police have also alleged that Siya earlier took Ketan’s passport to prevent a planned pre-wedding photoshoot in Bali and later discarded it in a washroom at a food mall on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway.