Pune, Jul 21 (PTI) Siya Goyal and her lover Chetan Chaudhary had initially discussed injuring her fiancé Ketan Agarwal to delay the upcoming marriage, but soon realised the idea was fraught with risk and decided to kill him, with the upcoming trip to Bali triggering urgency to act swiftly, police said.
In order to project Agarwal’s death as an accident, they discussed various methods, allegedly watched suspense films and browsed the internet before deciding that pushing him off a cliff was the best option, a police officer said on Tuesday.
The second stage of planning involved scouting for appropriate locations, leading them to explore several high-altitude locations, including Tiger Point in Lonavala and Visapur Fort. They exchanged photos before finalising the Lohagad Fort near Pune to execute the murder plan, he said.
They focused on finding a spot where no evidence could be found after the murder, he explained.
He claimed the conspiracy evolved over several weeks and it was preceded by extensive online searches, reconnaissance visits and repeated discussions between the accused duo.
“The accused had explored multiple locations, including Tiger Point, Visapur Fort and a few other forts in the region, before settling on Lohagad Fort. They exchanged photographs of these places and assessed which location would best suit their objective of making the death appear accidental while leaving behind no evidence,” the official said.
Police have arrested Goyal (20) and her alleged lover Chaudhary (22) in connection with the June 18 death of 26-year-old realtor Agarwal, who was allegedly pushed off the cliff at Lohagad Fort as per a planned script.
Investigators claimed that the duo conspired to kill Agarwal as he was turning out to be an obstacle in their relationship.
The officer said the duo was worried about the prospects of their relationship after Goyal got married to Agarwal.
“Goyal didn’t want to elope as she didn’t wish to bring disrepute to her family or embarrass Agarwal’s family. They (Goyal and Chaudhary) initially looked for ways to prevent the marriage from taking place,” the officer said.
They discussed the idea of causing injuries to Agarwal through some kind of accident so that the wedding would be postponed, but the idea was dismissed, he said.
Citing the investigation, he said no contract killing angle has emerged so far.
“Their initial plan was only to injure him (Agarwal) to make it appear like an accident,” the officer stressed.
The urgency to execute a plan increased in the run-up to Goyal and Agarwal’s planned trip to Bali earlier in June.
“Goyal and Agarwal were scheduled to spend eight days together in Bali after flying out on June 6. When they (Goyal and Chaudhary) realised that the idea to harm Agarwal somehow was not feasible, they decided to execute the plan themselves.
“They feared that if Agarwal survived and got wind of their conspiracy, he would expose them. That is when they allegedly decided to eliminate him,” the officer said.
The accused allegedly researched different methods of killing and browsed online for ways to avoid detection.
“They are suspected to have watched suspense films, carried out internet searches and discussed various methods before deciding that pushing the victim off a cliff would best resemble an accident,” the official said.
According to investigators, Goyal had already visited Lohagad Fort with Agarwal on May 31.
“The visit appears to have been a reconnaissance exercise. The primary purpose was to identify a suitable spot from where the victim could be pushed. Had an opportunity presented itself that day, she might have attempted to kill him. Chaudhary deliberately stayed away during that visit to minimise risk,” the officer said.
Police suspect Goyal identified the location during that visit and later tried to persuade Agarwal to revisit the fort on June 3.
“His family discouraged the trip as the couple was scheduled to travel to Bali shortly. Investigators believe the accused were determined to derail that trip by any means,” the officer said.
The investigation showed that Goyal allegedly stole Agarwal’s passport during a trip to Mumbai, resulting in the cancellation of the foreign visit.
Police also suspect that Goyal made an unsuccessful attempt to kill him at Lohagad Fort on June 14.
“She allegedly pushed him off the cliff, but he managed to hold on to a bush and survived. She immediately claimed she had pushed him to save him from a snake, thereby deflecting suspicion,” the officer added.
Investigators believe that if the June 14 attempt had succeeded, there would have been little evidence to indicate foul play.
After the failed attempt, Chaudhary allegedly joined the execution of the plan.
“On June 18, he followed Goyal and Agarwal to Lohagad Fort, where the two allegedly pushed Agarwal into the gorge,” according to the officer.
The investigation showed that before committing the crime, the accused allegedly rehearsed on a hill in Pune’s Lullanagar area and carried out online research on ways to avoid detection, he added.
Currently, Goyal and Chaudhary are lodged at Yerawada Central Jail in Pune in judicial custody. PTI SPK NSK
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