Ketan Vishal Agarwal, a 25-year-old heir of a real estate business in Maharashtra’s Pune, allegedly survived a murder attempt by his fiancé days before he was pushed to death from Lohagad Fort near Lonavala on June 18 — an incident that was first reported as an accidental death but took the shocking turn of a murder investigation after accused’s confession.
Ketan Agarwal, the director of family-run real estate firm Success Group and resident of Pune’s Lodha Belmondo in Gahunje, had visited Lohagad Fort on June 18 with his fiancé Siya Goyal as part of her birthday celebrations. Siya initially told police that Ketan had slipped and fallen while taking photographs near the fort.
An accidental death report was registered at first but the case took a dramatic turn after the police arrested the victim’s fiancé and her friend, Chetan Chaudhary, on suspicion of murder on Tuesday.
Ketan’s family alleged that his fiancé Siya Goyal, who they said was otherwise never doubted, did display certain red flags in the run up to the murder, citing an earlier push during a trek to Lohagad itself which was reasoned by her as her attempt to save him from a snake. Several other incidents before the alleged murder involving an aborted Bali trip and Siya’s insistence on going for a trek to Lohagad again solidified the suspicion of Ketan’s family of her role in the murder along with Chetan Chaudhary.
Ketan Agarwal was a regular trekker at Lohagad and was well-versed with the terrain, an earlier HT report quoted Pune Rural Superintendent of Police Sandip Singh Gill as saying. The Agarwal family too in their statement raised certain suspicions about Siya after which the police examined her phone and looked at other forensic details. It quickly emerged that she and Chetan Chaudhary were in a relationship for over a year, and tried in many ways to convey her reluctance to marry Ketan Agarwal.
Siya Goyal’s first failed murder attempt at Lohagad
Investigation revealed that four days before his death, the couple had gone trekking to Lohagad, where Siya allegedly pushed Ketan, claiming she had spotted a snake and was trying to save him. On June 18, Siya again insisted that they go for a trek ahead of her birthday on June 19.
“Through Call Record Data we managed to figure out that Chetan Chaudhary was also at Lohagad at the same time that Ketan and Siya were there,” said SP Gill. He claimed that the two accused have confessed to the killing, which has drawn comparisons with last year’s ‘honeymoon killing’ of Indore resident Raja Raghuvanshi in the forests of Meghalaya.
Ketan Agarwal’s father Vishal Agarwal, 46, told HT that his son had raised concerns about Siya’s behaviour, but the family had overlooked them.
A hoodie also later turned out to be a crucial clue for police to investigate the death as a murder and narrow in on Chetan. “When we checked the June 18 temperature, it was 33 degrees Celsius that morning. During scrutiny of CCTV footage from the foothills, we noticed a person wearing a hoodie with his head covered and also wearing headphones. This raised suspicion because such clothing was unusual considering the weather conditions,” another HT report quoted senior police inspector Dinesh Tayade of Lonavala Rural Police as saying.
Police later identified the individual as Chetan Chaudhary, who allegedly attempted to avoid detection by leaving his mobile phone at his Kondhwa residence rather than carrying it to the fort. Investigators tracked CCTV footage and subsequently questioned both Chaudhary and Siya. During sustained interrogation, the two allegedly confessed to the crime, police said.
‘Siya, Ketan were set for ₹14-crore wedding’
Ketan Agarwal was a director at his family firm, Success Group, one of Maharashtra’s largest warehouse developers. He returned to Pune in 2023 after completing his Master’s degree from the FW Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, to join the family business.
In February this year, he got engaged to Siya Goyal, 20, with his maternal uncle playing matchmaker. Goyal also belongs to an affluent business family in Pune. However, unknown to the Agarwals, she was in a relationship with Chetan Chaudhary, 22, whose family runs a business in the same business district as Goyal’s father.
Agarwal and Goyal were scheduled to get married in November this year, with hotels already booked in Udaipur for the wedding. However, on June 18, Siya allegedly insisted that Ketan Agarwal take her for a hike to Lohagad Fort as a birthday gift ahead of her 20th birthday the following day. She told him she would be waiting near Kiwale Bridge on the Pune-Mumbai Highway.
Police sources told HT the families were expected to spend around ₹14 crore on the celebrations.
At 10.45 am on June 18, Siya’s mother called the Agarwal family and informed them that Ketan had slipped into a gorge at Lohagad while taking photographs. “Initially we registered an accidental death report, but during the probe certain details and family statements made us rethink the investigation,” said Pune Rural Superintendent of Police Sandip Singh Gill.
The suspicions
Apart from the first alleged attempt to push Ketan off the cliff, another suspicious incident took place earlier this month, when Ketan and Siya were scheduled to travel to Bali for a pre-wedding photoshoot, but the trip was cancelled after the couple reached Mumbai airport and discovered that Ketan’s passport was missing. Investigations after his death revealed that Siya had allegedly hidden his passport to avoid the trip.
Ketan Agarwal’s father Vishal Agarwal, told HT, “After the engagement in February, Ketan and Siya met frequently and went out together. At times, Ketan expressed concerns about Siya, and asked us whether we had properly verified her antecedents. But as her family was related to us through our extended family network, I reassured him that everything was fine”.
Vishal Agarwal said the couple would often quarrel over minor issues and that Siya was always on her phone. Ketan, he said, had also mentioned Chetan Chaudhary’s name, raising doubts about a possible relationship with Siya.
“We thought about delaying the wedding because she was so young but her parents insisted that we go ahead with it as they would not find a match like my son,” he added.
Siya and Chetan have been booked for murder and conspiracy under sections 103 and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and have been taken into custody.
