Realtor Murder Case: Co-Accused Instigated Fiancée To Kill, Claims Pune Police Probe

Pune, Jun 26: The ongoing probe into the alleged murder of realtor Ketan Agarwal has revealed that it was co-accused Chetan Chaudhary who instigated Agarwal's fiancee Siya Goyal to eliminate him, a police official claimed on Friday.

In a related development, the Maharashtra government accepted the Agarwal family's demand for a fast-track court trial with noted lawyer Ujjwal Nikam as a special prosecutor.

"From the questioning of both the accused it has come to light that it was Chaudhary who instigated Siya Goyal to eliminate Agarwal at Lohagad Fort," a police official said.

Goyal's brother was also questioned in the case, he said.

Asked about media reports claiming that Goyal disliked Agarwal because he wore a wig, a police source said it was true that Agarwal wore a wig, but it could not be said that it was the sole reason Siya did not like him.

Ketan's father Vishal Agarwal told reporters that it was true that Ketan wore a small patch of wig, and added that Siya and her family had been told about it before their engagement.

"...if she had any issues, she should have said no. What was the need to kill my son?" he asked.

Goyal (20) and Chaudhary (22), who were in a relationship, are accused of hatching a conspiracy to kill 25-year-old Ketan Agarwal who was allegedly pushed off a cliff at Lohagad Fort in the district on June 18.

On Thursday, a Pune Rural Police official who is part of the probe had said that on reaching the cliff point, Goyal gave a pre-decided signal to Chaudhary who pushed an unsuspecting Agarwal to his death.

Meanwhile, Siya Goyal's mother has claimed that her daughter was reluctant to visit Lohagad Fort on June 18, but Ketan Agarwal and his mother persuaded her to make the trip.

"On the evening of June 17, Siya and Ketan had a video call, during which Ketan asked her to accompany him to Lohagad. During the call, Ketan's mother also spoke to Siya and urged her to go with him. Siya told her that she did not want to go trekking as there was a function scheduled for the following day and she wanted to rest," her mother claimed.

Speaking to reporters, Goyal's father dismissed reports that the family had booked a palace in Udaipur for the wedding and arranged a chartered aircraft.

"It is true that the wedding was to take place in Udaipur. The hotel charged around Rs 81,000 per couple per day, and we had booked 70 rooms.

Our total expenditure on the wedding was not more than Rs 3 crore," he said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met Ketan's father Vishal Agarwal in Pune on Friday, and assured that the government would ensure strict punishment to those responsible for his death.

The chief minister also accepted the family's demand to conduct the trial in a fast-track court and appoint Ujjwal Nikam as a special public prosecutor, said a release from Fadnavis's office.

Talking to reporters, Fadnavis said the incident reflected a disturbing social trend that required deeper introspection.

"We need to reflect on why educated young men and women from good families develop such criminal intent and desire for revenge. This is not merely a criminal issue, it also has a social angle. Society must create a strong support system to ensure such vengeful thinking does not develop among young people," he said.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and auto-generated from an agency feed.)