As the investigation gets underway into the alleged murder of Pune businessman Ketan Agarwal, a fresh motive has emerged. The police now suspect that his fiancée, Siya Goyal, was reluctant to marry him and was facing immense pressure from her family to go ahead with the wedding.
A senior police official told ANI that the accused was not "mentally prepared" for marriage and was under pressure from the family to accept the proposal.
Ketan had died after falling into a gorge at Lohagad Fort near Pune on June 18. The incident that initially seemed like an accident is now being probed as a murder. Police allege that he was pushed off the cliff as part of a conspiracy involving Siya and her alleged lover, Chetan Chaudhary.
Both Siya and Chetan were arrested and remanded to police custody till June 29.
Ketan and Siya had gone to Lohagad Fort to celebrate her birthday. The couple were due to marry in November.
Siya had initially told the police that Ketan had slipped while taking photographs near the edge of the fort amid heavy winds. However, later investigators found inconsistencies in the account.
"The investigation pointed to a murder conspiracy," said police.
Multiple angles, including financial disputes and personal relationships, were probed, said Pune Rural Superintendent of Police Sandip Singh Gill. "During the probe, police found that Siya was in a relationship with Chaudhary, a resident of Kondhwa in Pune," said Gill.
The digital evidence and other material gathered during the investigation allegedly revealed the growing relationship between Siya and Chetan.
The investigators are also looking into any earlier attempts made to kill Ketan four days before his death.
Ketan's father, Vishal Agrawal, alleged that his son narrowly escaped after being pushed towards the edge when they had earlier visited the Lohagad Fort on June 14.
"At the time, he managed to save himself by holding on to nearby bushes. When Ketan realised he had been pushed, Siya raised a false alarm about a snake and claimed she had pushed him, only to protect him. Looking back, I believe there was an attempt to kill Ketan even on June 14," he said.
"We are probing whether there was a pattern and whether the incidents were part of a larger plan," another official told ANI.
Ketan's father also alleged that Siya had sabotaged a planned pre-wedding trip to Bali. Ketan's passport was missing from the pouch, which carried the passports.
Vishal said that the missing passport was not an accident and questioned whether it formed part of a larger plan. "After the trip to Bali was cancelled, Siya fought with Ketan and insisted that they go to Lohagad," he said.
