PUNE: Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal’s fiancée Siya Goyal allegedly sat down not just to signal her co-accused Chetan Chaudhary to push Agarwal off Lohagad Fort, but also to ensure she stayed out of the victim’s reach during the fatal fall, police have said. Chaudhary had also “done his homework” by travelling to the historical site on a scooter instead of a car, allegedly to avoid detection at a toll plaza, officials said on Sunday, according to news agency PTI. Goyal (20) and Chaudhary (22) have been arrested for allegedly conspiring to kill 25-year-old Agarwal and pushing him off a cliff at Lohagad Fort in Pune district on June 18. An official said Goyal’s act of sitting down was part of the pre-decided plan. “As per the plan, Goyal was to give a signal by sitting down, following which Chaudhary was to come up and push an unsuspecting Agarwal to his death. They executed the plan perfectly,” he said. According to news agency PTI, the two had allegedly agreed that she would sit down under the pretext of drinking water or tying her shoelaces. The sitting posture itself was meant to serve as the signal, officials said.Investigators, however, also believe the move was intended to keep her safe during the attack.“The signal was chosen deliberately so that Goyal 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,” he said. Police said Chaudhary took additional steps to conceal his movements on June 18, travelling nearly 90 km from Pune to Lohagad Fort on a scooter.“Chaudhary travelled to Lohagad Fort on the morning of June 18. He chose a scooter over a car as he feared the car could be detected at a toll plaza. We have seized the scooter,” said a police officer, who is part of the investigation. After the alleged murder, Chaudhary reportedly returned to Pune on the same scooter, officials said. Investigators also found that he changed his appearance 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. Earlier on Sunday, police took Goyal to Lohagad Fort for a crime scene reconstruction, using a dummy to recreate the sequence in which Agarwal was pushed off the cliff. The exercise was conducted to establish the exact chain of events of the June 18 incident, officials said. According to police, the crime involved careful planning, and both accused have admitted they visited the fort earlier to identify a suitable location and even conducted what they described as “practice”. “We are yet to ascertain which other spot they had practised at,” said the official. As the custody of both accused ends on Monday, they are expected to be produced before the court, with police likely to seek further remand. Police on Saturday also questioned Goyal’s father, mother and brother and recorded their statements.(With Agency Inputs)
