Siya Goyal, the 20-year-old woman arrested for the murder of Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal, allegedly gave her lover a signal to push her fiancée off the Lohagad Fort, the police said on Sunday. According to the investigators, Siya sat down to signal Chetan and also to ensure she remained out of Ketan Agarwal's reach during the fall.
A police officer told PTI that the duo had agreed on Siya giving a signal by sitting down, after which Chetan was to come up and push Ketan to his death.
'Siya sitting down was a signal'
The two had decided that she would sit down either to drink water or on the pretext of tying her shoelaces. Sitting down was the signal, the official said.
"The signal was chosen deliberately so that Siya would not be within the victim's reach during the fatal push. They feared that if Chetan pushed Ketan and the latter tried to grab Siya while falling, she too could fall into the gorge. The plan was made keeping her safety in mind," the officer told PTI.
Meticulous planning for murder
Earlier in the day, a team from the Pune Rural Police took Siya to Lohagad Fort to recreate the crime scene. The police also revealed that Siya and Chetan had meticulously planned and rehearsed the crime before 26-year-old Ketan was pushed down from an isolated spot of the Lohagad Fort on June 18.
According to the police, this includes covering up their tracks by deleting WhatsApp chats and travelling on a scooter to avoid detection at a toll plaza.
"Chetan travelled to Lohgad Fort on the morning of June 18. He chose a scooter over a car as he feared that the car could be detected at a toll plaza,” the official said.
The accused also left his phone behind at his shop and was using the phone of an employee at the time. According to the police, this was another attempt to mislead by showing his mobile tower location at a far-off place at the time of the crime.
Chetan also wore a hoodie that covered his face after reaching the fort.
"He climbed the fort wearing a hoodie. Later, he removed it and remained in a black T-shirt. While leaving, he put on the hoodie again," the official said, adding that investigators believe it was done to avoid attracting attention.
Siya did not want to marry Ketan
According to reports, Siya has admitted to the police that they planned the murder as she did not want to get married to Ketan. Siya reportedly told police that she did not want the marriage to be called off as she feared it would bring disrepute to her family.
Ketan and Siya were engaged in February and were to get married in November this year. According to the police, the Agarwals and Goyals met through another business family.
Betrayed by our own people: Ketan's family
Devichand Agarwal, the grandfather of Ketan, said, "We have been betrayed by our own people, whom we had known for several years."
Devichand Agarwal said he believed Siya Goyal's family had pressured her into agreeing to marry Ketan Agarwal.
"We want the police to investigate everyone responsible for this wedding. These two accused, Siya and Chetan, should be awarded capital punishment," he said on Saturday at a candlelight march seeking justice for Ketan.
