Pune murder case: Accused Siya Goyal, lover searched Google on how to kill fiancé, later wiped history, says report

Siya Goyal and her alleged partner, Chetan Chaudhary, accused of killing her fiancé Ketan Agarwal, at Lohagad Fort near Pune earlier this month, had reportedly searched online for methods to commit the murder, according to the investigation, as reported by NDTV.

According to the report, police said the couple visited the fort alone beforehand to “rehearse” the crime. They had also allegedly planned and practised what they would say to investigators if they were questioned or caught.

NDTV further reported that the investigation has further indicated that the two accused in the murder case had planned to change their appearance during the crime to avoid being identified.

Earlier reports suggest that Siya and Chetan had deleted their entire chat history, including recycle bin data, both before and after the incident. Their mobile phones have been sent to a forensic lab to recover deleted records, officials said, as reported by NDTV.

Police recreate crime scene with Siya Goyal at Lohagad Fort

Police on Sunday escorted Siya Goyal, one of the accused in the alleged murder of her fiancé and Pune-based realtor Ketan Agarwal, to Lohagad Fort for a crime scene reconstruction, an official said, as reported by PTI.

Police stated that the exercise is intended to recreate the precise sequence of events of the June 18 incident, during which Agarwal was allegedly pushed to his death from the fort by Siya (20) and her alleged partner, Chetan Chaudhary (22).

"Siya was taken to the spot at Lohagad Fort from where she, along with Chetan Chaudhary, allegedly pushed Agarwal to death. Chetan will be taken to the fort separately," a senior official of the Pune rural police said.

During the crime scene recreation, the accused's claims about how and from where Agarwal was pushed off will be verified, he added.

Goyal and Chaudhary have been arrested for allegedly conspiring to kill Agarwal and pushing him off Lohagad Fort in Pune district.

Investigators are probing various aspects of the case, including the planning of the alleged crime, the movements of the accused before and after the incident, their digital footprint, and the motive behind the murder, a senior police official said, as reported by PTI.

Here's what Siya Goyal's advocate said

In the Ketan Agarwal murder case, the counsel for the accused Siya Goyal, on Sunday said that any confession made while in custody cannot be treated as admissible evidence and asserted that the defence will raise the issue during proceedings, while questioning what prompted the investigating agency to change its stand from treating the case as an accidental death to pursuing it as a murder investigation.

Advocate Aashutosh Srivastava, appearing for Siya Goyal, referred to provisions under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) while addressing the issue of the alleged confession.

"I have said before that what was previously Section 25 of our Indian Evidence Act is now Section 23 in our new law, the BSA (Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam). It states very clearly that if any accused makes any kind of confession while in detention or police custody, where they are under pressure or under threat, then such confessions cannot be considered admissible evidence at all in any criminal law. We will certainly raise this issue as well," he told ANI.

(With agencies' input)