Pune badnaam hua, darrrling tere liye. The cliff hanger from the Lohagad Fort near Pune, involving the gruesome murder of Ketan Agarwal, a 26-year-old builder, his 20-year-old fiancée Siya Goel, and her shop-owner boyfriend, Chetan Choudhary, is keeping India on its toes.
As of now, no other breaking news seems to matter – not even the story “they” want to underplay – the brazen Ayodhya Ram Mandir embezzlement case. Nobody cares. Instead, a grisly love triangle played out on the ramparts of a fort has become the number one national scandal. This must please Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi (undoubtedly refreshed and recharged after feeding tortoises in azure Seychelles). Meanwhile, some of the dirty details of exactly how temple donations were allegedly filched from what is frequently projected as India’s most important spiritual complex, are trickling in as police search houses of eight accused—eight days after their arrest.
But first. I want to put myself in Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam’s shoes. Fresh from enjoying the cinematic triumph of his biopic, Prahaar, in which Rajkummar Rao plays him, our man has been handpicked by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to lead the investigation in the sensational Lohagad murder case. Great to see our CM swing into action this swiftly to help a Pune builder solve his son’s murder case. Never mind other grisly killings across the state.
Well. I am applying for a job as Nikam’s assistant. I am good at detective-giri, possess a logical mind, and given the chance, I’d love to grill the two sets of parents – after all, they are the ones responsible for creating the mess in the first place.
The murder and the plot
Everyone implicated in the investigation so far is busy denying everything (perhaps, Twisha Sharma’s mother-in-law Giribala Singh is advising them from inside her cell in Tihar). No charge sheet has been filed so far. And like in Twisha’s tragic death, here too, the cops have taken the accused (Siya and Chetan), to the scene of the crime, carrying Ketan’s dummy for the macabre recreation of the murder.
Siya, named by her pious folks after Goddess Sita, is playing it cool. Even though her mother has dramatically declared her daughter should be flung off the same cliff if found guilty of Ketan’s murder. ( Don’t be so mean, Mumma!). Ketan’s parents are bypassing the social media drama, and have gone straight to the top (Pune builders are masters of this tactic). Disinformation is being spread stealthily via leaks and other sources. The fall guy, as of now, is the one with no money and therefore, no defence – the boyfriend.
But even he is happy to throw his girlfriend under the bus, or over the cliff, by insisting he was not present when she pushed Ketan. Yes, yes, I am getting equally confused with the Chetan-Ketan names. Agarwal is dead. Choudhary is alive.
What we do know so far is that this was the fourth attempt to get rid of a persistent fiancé whose biggest crime was that he wore a hair patch. The hair patch is significant. It seems to be the main motive for the murder. Maybe Siya Goyal didn’t know competent trichologists? She could have asked Salman Bhai for his…instead, she decided she absolutely did not want to go ahead with the marriage and spend her life with a bald husband. Come on, Siya… look at Anupam Kher! But yes – the boyfriend has a full head of hair. Figures.
This murder has fascinating subtexts. But the one that grabs me is the dheela position of arranged marriages in certain communities and at a particular income level. Class, coercion, privilege vs attraction, agency and assertion. Underage Siya at 20 clearly did not want to settle for the rishta, which had been brokered by the parents. The groom seemed besotted with his pretty fiancée and had already spent a small fortune trying to impress her. Like the pre-wedding photo shoot he’d arranged in Bali (a high-end tourist destination).
Incredible that nobody was alerted or alarmed when Ketan’s passport disappeared en route to the airport and the Bali plan was hastily aborted. Stranger still, Siya had attempted to throw him over the cliff earlier and the poor fool had saved himself by hanging on to a bush. Still no alarm bells! Siya said she was saving him from a snake that nobody else saw. Come on!
Why were both sets of parents in such a rush to get the two married? Gen Z is on Siya’s side. They are posting sympathetically about young women like Siya who are pressurised to get married and forget their personal dreams, snuff out their identity. Gen Z identifies with her struggle, desperation and trauma, arguing she had no other option but to get rid of her husband-to-be. Yup. That casually.
Siya’S extreme behaviour is justified as being the last resort of a trapped girl who wanted out but was denied choice. Clearly, she was not physically attracted to the man hand-picked for her by the elders. He was not her type! The more hatta katta, hirsute Chetan Choudhary, with enough hair on his head, and exuding pura pura swag (do watch the CCTV clip inside a café, captured on camera a day before the crime was committed) clearly was. The duo resembles any young couple out on a coffee date. Compare that to her forced laughter in the clips of her engagement to Ketan.
Gen Z blames the parents for forcing life decisions on their reluctant children and threatening them with the tired, “log kya kahengey” sermon.
The boyfriend holds the key to the mystery. What was in it for him? The obvious answer is money. A better life. Perks. Luxury. But who had promised him that? Did Siya have access to family funds? She reportedly gave Chetan a crore—an amount she’d extracted from Ketan for wedding expenses. But long term? If not her, then who?
Ujjwal Nikam sirji, the public is relying on you.
Meanwhile, where’s suspect number one, the hair patch that caused all the trouble?
Also read: Kavya Karnatac allowed Orry’s transphobia on her podcast. Spineless centrism isn’t a brand
Number one Modi Bhakt
Meanwhile, Suniel Shetty’s 15-month-old granddaughter has grabbed social media attention by proving she is the ultimate Modi Bhakt. Shri Shetty shared in an interview that the little one worships Narendra Modi – literally! She prays daily to his image and offers prasad ke laddoos, chanting, “Modiji, Modiji”. “Kuch toh hoga!” the deliriously happy grandpa gushed. Kuch toh zaroor hai, bhai. Shetty has a few laddoos of his own. I’m waiting for more star toddlers to lisp ‘’Modiji… Modiji…’’
Shobhaa De is an author, columnist, social commentator, and opinion-shaper. She has written 20 books. She tweets @DeShobhaa. Views are personal.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)
Pathetic. This whole column is pathetic. A young, innocent guy was pushed off a cliff by this immature, spoilt brat who didn’t have the balls to cancel the marriage, but had the shocking ability to plan and lure him to the fort for the third time, and monstrously shove him off the cliff, in cahoots with her spineless paramour who was obviously boinking her for money. This news is not trivial; maybe not in the same league as the Ram Mandir embezzlement case, but a boy has been murdered, and very insensitively, you write about his hair patch?? Your column was not funny. It was cheap and a sad attempt from a fading once-upon-a-time “interesting” columnist.