PUNE: Even as Pune Rural Police piece together a premeditated murder conspiracy at Lohagad Fort, the father of accused Chetan Chaudhary has come out in his son’s defence, claiming Chetan was nowhere near Ketan Agarwal when the 26-year-old businessman fell to his death on June 18 and that police had assured the family the matter would be resolved within hours. Babulal Chowdhury, Chetan’s father, told news agency ANI that his son had given no specific details about the June 18 outing before leaving home. “He only mentioned that he had a meeting and was heading there. He had told his mother that in the morning, and he told me the same. He did not give me any other details,” Babulal said. Maintaining that Chetan had no role in the death, Babulal said his son told the family he was standing at a distance when Ketan fell. “He clearly told us that he did not push the boy and was standing far away. The girl was the one standing right there when the boy fell. I do not know whether she pushed him or not, but Chetan mentioned that he was standing a little further back,” he said. Babulal also said the family had no prior acquaintance with Siya Goyal, the co-accused and Ketan’s fiancée. “We have never seen the girl in question and know absolutely nothing about her. In fact, I only found out her name, Siya, yesterday; I have never seen her before,” he said, asserting that his son was being falsely framed.“The police have informed us that this is a minor issue and is actually a case of fraud. They assured us they would release the child to us within two hours,” he added.Chetan’s lawyer, advocate Ram Shahane, echoed the defence at court, arguing that the FIR contained no concrete allegations specifically describing his client’s role. “The FIR does not specifically describe his role in the alleged offense. It merely states that he is the boyfriend of the main accused, and on that basis he has been implicated in the case,” Shahane told news agency PTI. He said the defence had raised these arguments during the first remand hearing and sought a curtailment of the seven-day police custody that investigators had sought for Chetan. Both Chetan Chaudhary and Siya Goyal are currently in seven-day police custody until June 29, after a Wadgaon Maval court remanded them following their arrest on Tuesday. Police say both have confessed to the murder during interrogation. According to Pune Rural Police SP Sandeep Singh Gill, Chetan had arrived at Lohagad Fort independently and followed Ketan and Siya to an isolated cliff edge, where the two allegedly pushed Ketan into a 400-foot gorge. CCTV footage showed Chetan trailing the couple in a hoodie despite 33-degree heat — the detail that first aroused police suspicion and unravelled what had been registered as an accidental death.
