A Pune court on Monday extended the police custody of Siya Goyal, the fiancée of deceased businessman Ketan Agrawal, and her alleged lover Chetan till July 3 in connection with the sensational Lohagad death case.
The duo was produced before the court after their earlier police remand expired. While the defence opposed any further custodial interrogation, arguing that the investigation had substantially progressed, the prosecution contended that several crucial aspects of the probe remain incomplete.
Seeking an extension of police custody, investigators told the court that they had established the existence of a criminal conspiracy between the accused but were yet to ascertain how the alleged murder was executed. Police said they need to identify where the conspiracy was hatched, conduct a crime scene reconstruction with Chetan, and verify whether the accused had carried out reconnaissance at Lohagad Fort before the incident.
The prosecution further informed the court that investigators are searching for Ketan Agrawal's passport, alleging that Siya had earlier torn up her own passport after refusing to travel to Bali for a pre-wedding photoshoot.
Police also said they are attempting to recover deleted data from Ketan's mobile phone, claiming that vital information has been concealed. Investigators additionally sought custody to seize Chetan's clothes and complete other pending forensic procedures.
The defence, however, challenged both the legality of the arrests and the request for further police custody. Appearing for Siya Goyal, advocate Vipul Dushyant argued that the investigation has now entered a technical stage and no longer requires custodial interrogation. He maintained that Ketan's death resulted from a fall into a gorge and said the prosecution's allegation of murder was based solely on the claims made by the victim's family.
Representing Chetan, the defence argued that his name appears only twice in the FIR and that police had already been granted seven days of custody to complete interrogations, seizures and other investigative procedures.
The lawyer questioned why police were now seeking custody to seize a pair of trousers when other personal belongings, including his hoodie, mobile phone and vehicle, had already been taken into custody.
The defence also criticised the investigation, alleging that the prosecution was introducing fresh grounds merely to justify extending police custody. It further objected to what it described as an ongoing "media trial", claiming that details of the investigation were being disclosed to the media before being presented in court.
Opposing the defence's plea, the prosecution submitted that CCTV footage collected during the investigation showed Siya and Chetan meeting before the incident. According to investigators, the accused allegedly visited Lohagad on May 31, June 4 and June 14 as part of the conspiracy to kill Ketan Agrawal.
The prosecution also questioned Chetan's movements on the day of the incident, alleging that he used a labourer's mobile phone instead of his own and was present at Lohagad, indicating a pre-planned conspiracy.
Police argued that further custodial interrogation and crime scene reconstruction involving Chetan are necessary to establish the sequence of events and identify whether any other individuals were involved.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court granted the prosecution's request in part and remanded Siya Goyal and Chetan to police custody till July 3 for further investigation.
