New Delhi: Police investigating the murder of Pune businessman Ketan Agarwal are examining claims that the prime accused, Siya Goyal, had secretly married her boyfriend Chetan Choudhary months before her engagement to the victim.
According to sources, Pune Rural Police are verifying whether the 20-year-old Siya registered her marriage with Chetan under the Special Marriage Act at a local registrar’s office nearly four months before her engagement to Ketan.
Investigators are scrutinising the official marriage certificate. If authenticated, it would indicate that Siya was already legally married when she became engaged to Ketan in February.
Police have also questioned two of Siya’s college friends who allegedly signed as witnesses to the marriage. In addition, cyber experts are attempting to recover deleted photographs from a private Instagram account that reportedly showed Siya and Chetan exchanging garlands during the alleged wedding ceremony.
The investigation relates to the death of 25-year-old Ketan Agarwal, who fell from a cliff at Lohagad Fort in Pune district on June 18.
According to police, Siya was unhappy with her proposed marriage to Ketan and allegedly conspired with Chetan to kill him. The couple’s wedding was scheduled for November at a hotel in Udaipur. Investigators suspect the alleged murder plot was executed after Ketan’s family sought Siya’s documents for wedding arrangements.
Police are also examining Chetan’s bank accounts to determine whether any payments were made to bypass the mandatory public notice period required under the Special Marriage Act.
Investigators allege that Chetan secretly followed Siya and Ketan on the day of the incident as part of the conspiracy. Both Siya and Chetan were arrested a few days after Ketan’s death and are currently in judicial custody while the investigation continues.
