From Diwali party meet to murder partners: Story of Pune trek case accused Siya, Chetan

FRom the number one encounter at a Diwali company to at present co-accused in an alleged slay case that has shocked the entire country, the story of Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary — accused of killing a 25-year-old businessman from Maharashtra's Pune — is beyond comprehension for many.Siya Goyal is accused of killing her fiancé Ketan Agarwal with the help of Chetan Chaudhary, believed to be her boyfriend, by pushing him off a cliff during a trek to Lohagad Fort near Lonavala on June 18 — an incident which was earlier reported to be an accidental death case but later took a turn when police questioning raised suspicion.As further investigation is underway to find out more on the motive of the alleged murder, police probe and accounts by family members of the victim have so far indicated that Siya Goyal was reluctant to marry Ketan Agarwal.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.How accused Siya and Chetan metThe first breakthrough came when investigators began questioning the circumstances surrounding Ketan's fall on June 18. His family had raised doubts over the accidental death theory, pointing out that Ketan was an experienced trekker and familiar with the terrain of Lohagad Fort, HT earlier reported.An accidental death report was registered initially, but investigators started examining CCTV footage and the movements of people around the fort on the day of the incident.The search led police to a suspicious figure captured near the foothills of Lohagad - a man wearing a hoodie despite the hot weather."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," the earlier report quoted as saying Dinesh Tayade of Lonavala Rural Police.Police suspect that amid the reluctance to get married so early, Siya had developed a close relationship with co-accused Chetan Chaudhary, whom she allegedly met at a Diwali party last year, news agency ANI reported. Investigators claim the two remained in regular contact over the past several months and were allegedly discussing plans against Ketan Agrawal. Pune Rural Police suspects that Siya Goyal was unwilling to get married at this stage of her life and was allegedly under family pressure to marry the victim, ANI quoted officials as saying on Wednesday.According to police sources cited by the news agency, questioning of the accused and analysis of digital and circumstantial evidence suggest that Siya wanted more time for herself and was reluctant to proceed with the proposed marriage despite pressure from her family."The accused was apparently not mentally prepared for marriage and was under pressure from her family to accept the proposal," a senior police official was quoted as saying, adding that investigators are examining multiple angles, including motive and an alleged conspiracy.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.Investigation also found that this was Siya's second attempt to kill Ketan, who survived the first alleged kill bid four days before his death. The failed attempt also reportedly took place during a Lohagad trek, the couple's first, when Siya allegedly pushed Ketan and claimed it was to save him from a snake.