Siya Goyal's father reveals total wedding budget, refutes having booked a palace in Udaipur
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met Ketan's father Vishal Agarwal in Pune on Friday, and assured that the government would ensure strict punishment to those responsible for his death
The article details developments in a murder investigation, with Siya Goyal's father clarifying their wedding expenses in Udaipur were not extravagant, costing around Rs 3 crore and not involving a palace booking or chartered flights, while her mother claims Siya was reluctant to visit Lohagad Fort due to a scheduled event the next day, only agreeing after persuasion from Ketan Agarwal and his mother. Concurrently, Ketan Agarwal's father met with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who agreed to establish a fast-track court and appoint Ujjwal Nikam as special public prosecutor for the case, with Nikam also consenting to take on the role. The police have also summoned and questioned Siya Goyal's brother, Sahil Goyal, regarding the case, amid a serious investigation reportedly underway due to allegations from the Agarwal family, and following earlier conflicting statements from the accused, Siya and Ketan, each blaming the other for orchestrating the murder.
The article details developments in a murder investigation, with Siya Goyal's father clarifying their wedding expenses in Udaipur were not extravagant, costing around Rs 3 crore and not involving a palace booking or chartered flights, while her mother claims Siya was reluctant to visit Lohagad Fort due to a scheduled event the next day, only agreeing after persuasion from Ketan Agarwal and his mother. Concurrently, Ketan Agarwal's father met with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who agreed to establish a fast-track court and appoint Ujjwal Nikam as special public prosecutor for the case, with Nikam also consenting to take on the role. The police have also summoned and questioned Siya Goyal's brother, Sahil Goyal, regarding the case, amid a serious investigation reportedly underway due to allegations from the Agarwal family, and following earlier conflicting statements from the accused, Siya and Ketan, each blaming the other for orchestrating the murder.
The article details developments in a murder investigation, with Siya Goyal's father clarifying their wedding expenses in Udaipur were not extravagant, costing around Rs 3 crore and not involving a palace booking or chartered flights, while her mother claims Siya was reluctant to visit Lohagad Fort due to a scheduled event the next day, only agreeing after persuasion from Ketan Agarwal and his mother. Concurrently, Ketan Agarwal's father met with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who agreed to establish a fast-track court and appoint Ujjwal Nikam as special public prosecutor for the case, with Nikam also consenting to take on the role. The police have also summoned and questioned Siya Goyal's brother, Sahil Goyal, regarding the case, amid a serious investigation reportedly underway due to allegations from the Agarwal family, and following earlier conflicting statements from the accused, Siya and Ketan, each blaming the other for orchestrating the murder.
Speaking to reporters, Siya Goyal's father dismissed reports that the family had booked a palace in Udaipur for the wedding and arranged a chartered aircraft.
"It is true that the wedding was to take place in Udaipur. The hotel charged around Rs 81,000 per couple per day, and we had booked 70 rooms. Our total expenditure on the wedding was not more than Rs 3 crore," he said.
Meanwhile, Siya Goyal's mother has claimed that her daughter was reluctant to visit Lohagad Fort on June 18, but Ketan Agarwal and his mother persuaded her to make the trip.
"On the evening of June 17, Siya and Ketan had a video call, during which Ketan asked her to accompany him to Lohagad. During the call, Ketan's mother also spoke to Siya and urged her to go with him. Siya told her that she did not want to go trekking as there was a function scheduled for the following day and she wanted to rest," her mother claimed.
Ketan Agarwal's father met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, demanding that Ujjwal Nikam be appointed as a special public prosecutor in this case. According to Marathi media reports, Chief Minister Fadnavis has accepted his other demand of establishing a fast-track court to hear the case as well.
"In the case of the tragic murder of Ketan Agarwal that took place in the rural area of Lonavala, Ketan Agarwal's father, Vishal Agarwal, met with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today in Pune and demanded justice for his son," the Maharashtra CMO said on X.
"We are committed to ensuring that the guilty in this case receive the harshest punishment. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assured them at this time that no stone will be left unturned in delivering justice to the family," it added.
"Their demand to establish a fast-track court in this case and appoint Ujjwal Nikam as a special public prosecutor was also immediately accepted by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and he issued instructions to that effect to the Secretary of the Law and Judiciary Department. Senior advocate Ujjwal Nikam has also given his consent to work as a special public prosecutor in this case," the X post concluded.
Meanwhile, the police have summoned Siya Goyal's brother in connection with the case, TV9 Marathi said in a report. He was questioned for a couple of hours. Siya's brother, Sahil Goyal, reportedly had his statement recorded, the report said. In view of the allegations made by the Agarwal family members, a serious investigation is being carried out, police sources reportedly told the press.
Earlier, investigators had said that both the accused have turned against each other in their statements. Siya claimed that Chetan pressured her to commit the murder by telling her that she was not capable of doing it. Meanwhile, Chetan claimed that it was Siya who masterminded the entire conspiracy.