Pune murder: Siya Goyal researched Raja Raghuvanshi case before killing Ketan Agarwal, say police

New Delhi: Investigators probing the murder of Pune businessman Ketan Agarwal suspect that the crime may have been inspired by the high-profile murder of Raja Raghuvanshi, with the accused allegedly learning from the earlier case to plan a more sophisticated killing.

According to NDTV, Pune Police believe Ketan Agarwal's fiancée, Siya Goyal, and her alleged accomplice and boyfriend, Chetan Chaudhary, carefully studied the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case before allegedly pushing Agarwal off a cliff at Lohagad Fort.

Police told NDTV that the two cases share striking similarities. In both incidents, the victims were allegedly thrown off a cliff by their partners. However, investigators believe Siya Goyal refined the plan after observing the investigation into the Raja Raghuvanshi case, creating stronger alibis and making the crime more difficult to unravel.

According to police, the breakthrough came only after sustained interrogation, which led investigators to uncover the alleged conspiracy.

"Like a stream of consciousness novel, investigators had to peel through layers of alibis before reaching the point where the accused admitted to committing the crime," police officials told NDTV, noting that while a confession made in police custody has limited evidentiary value, it helps investigators recover corroborative evidence.

An officer associated with the investigation told that the alleged murder was driven by desperation rather than criminal instinct.

"It was a crime of desperation. Personal relations and her thinking process led her to believe this was the way to go about it. The transactional element between families also played a role in her decision."

The officer added that there was no single trigger behind the alleged crime.

"Multiple factors contributed to Siya's decision... Family and societal beliefs were definitely one of them. But it went beyond that and the investigation suggests there was not one factor but a combination of several factors that triggered her decision to eliminate Ketan Agrawal."

Police further alleged that the accused intentionally planned the murder and created alibis to evade detection and prosecution.

"In that sense, there was intention to commit crime, and they went through with it, plotting alibis to escape detection, trial and hopefully conviction," an officer told NDTV.

Investigators also claimed that neither Siya Goyal nor Chetan Chaudhary has shown remorse since their arrest.

"Time in jail usually breaks the most hardened criminals and perhaps with the duo now being in judicial custody, realisation will dawn on them as they spend time in jail," the officer said.

According to police, Agarwal's family had expressed doubts from the outset that his death was accidental. Investigators also found the location from which he fell at Lohagad Fort to be less dangerous than several other points along the trekking route, raising suspicion.

Police told NDTV that forensic examination of Siya Goyal's mobile phone revealed browsing history related to the Raja Raghuvanshi murder in Meghalaya. Investigators also found searches concerning whether women are beaten in police custody and the legal rights of female prisoners.

Officials said a second mobile phone recovered from the Goyal residence has been sent for forensic analysis and may provide further evidence regarding the alleged planning and execution of the crime.

Investigators further alleged that both Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary pushed Ketan Agarwal off the cliff together, believing that Siya alone might not have had the physical strength to ensure he fell into the gorge.

Meanwhile, Uma Raghuvanshi, Raja Raghuvanshi's mother, told NDTV that the Pune case reminded her of her son's murder. She alleged that, like the accused in her son's case, Siya Goyal had shown no remorse.

Uma Raghuvanshi also expressed concern that bail granted to Sonam Raghuvanshi while the Raja Raghuvanshi murder trial continues in Shillong could embolden others accused in similar crimes.