Siya Goyal, the prime accused in the murder of Pune businessman Ketan Agarwal, is now at the centre of another startling revelation. Investigators are probing claims that she had secretly married her boyfriend, Chetan Chaudhary, after her engagement to Agarwal, a development that could significantly alter the course of the investigation.
According to sources, Pune Rural Police are verifying whether Goyal and Chaudhary solemnised their marriage under the Special Marriage Act at a local registrar’s office around four months ago. If the claim is substantiated through official records, it would mean Goyal got legally married after her engagement to Agarwal took place in February.
Police are reportedly examining whether a marriage certificate exists and have also questioned two of Goyal’s college friends who are believed to have signed as witnesses to the alleged marriage.
The investigation has also turned to the digital trail left behind by the accused. Technical experts are attempting to retrieve deleted photographs from a private Instagram account that showed Goyal and Chaudhary exchanging wedding garlands, which could serve as crucial evidence if recovered.
Investigators suspect that the murder conspiracy gathered pace after Agarwal’s family sought Goyal’s personal documents to complete formalities for their planned destination wedding in Udaipur. Officials are also scrutinising Chaudhary’s bank transactions to determine whether money was paid to a middleman to bypass the mandatory public notice period required under the Special Marriage Act, enabling the alleged marriage to be registered discreetly.
The case stems from the death of 25-year-old Ketan Agarwal, who fell from a cliff at Lohagad Fort in Pune on 18 June. Initially appearing to be an accident, the incident later turned into a murder investigation after police said that Goyal had orchestrated the killing because she did not want to marry Agarwal.
Agarwal, a Pune-based businessman, had met Goyal through a family-arranged match, and the two got engaged in February. Their wedding was scheduled for November, with a luxury venue in Udaipur already booked for the celebrations.
Police arrested both Goyal and Chaudhary days after the incident, alleging that Chaudhary had followed the couple to Lohagad Fort as part of a pre-planned conspiracy to eliminate Agarwal. Both accused are currently in judicial custody as the investigation continues.
