Pune trekker murder: CCTV clue, a hoodie in 33°C lead police to killers

“CCTV footage showing a hooded man, later identified as Chetan Chaudhary, following Ketan Agarwal and his fiancée Siya Goyal at Lohagad Fort near Pune alerted the police as they investigated the businessman’s death,” police said in a statement on Wednesday, June 24, 2026.

Police found it unusual that the man was wearing a hoodie despite the temperature being around 33 degrees Celsius, and the man’s general suspicious behavior prompted them to further investigate Ketan’s death, which initially appeared to be a tragic hiking accident.

In a deadly turn to a dream wedding, police said on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, that 26-year-old Ketan, who died during the march on June 18, was allegedly pushed into the gorge by his fiancee Siya (20) and her lover Chetan (22).

Watch: Pune fort murder: Police allege fiancee, lover pushed man into gorge

Ketan Agarwal, who got engaged to Siya earlier this year, died after falling off a cliff at the historic fort on June 18. The incident was initially recorded as an accidental death, and Siya informed the victim’s family that he had slipped while walking.

A police officer involved in the investigation said, “While investigating the incident, we came across some circumstances that raised suspicions about the incident and led to a deeper investigation. We checked the CCTV cameras installed at the ticket counter of the fort, where we saw Ketan and Siya walking together.”

Examining the footage carefully, the police noticed a man a few meters behind Ketan and Siya.

“The man was wearing shorts and a hoodie. The front of the hoodie was pulled down so much that his face could not be seen. Also, the man was wearing headphones over the hoodie. In another video clip, we noticed that Siya suddenly looked back and at the same time, the hooded man suddenly sat down,” the official said. he said.

He said that later on June 18, they checked the current temperature and found that it was 33 degrees Celsius and wondered why anyone would wear a hoodie in such heat.

The officer said that due to the grief of Ketan’s family, the police could not immediately get information about the couple, but during the investigation, it was learned from Ketan’s uncle that Siya had earlier expressed reservations about the marriage and asked if the wedding could be postponed for a year.

Siya and Ketan got engaged in February and were scheduled to marry in November in a grand wedding ceremony in Udaipur, with a palace booked.

“During our investigations with Ketan’s sister Sanjana and other family members, we learned that Siya had repeatedly persuaded Agarwal to accompany him to Lohagad Fort on many occasions before the fatal incident. On May 31, Siya had taken Ketan to Lohagad Fort. On June 4, he once again insisted that he go to Lohagad Fort. But Ketan’s mother did not allow him to go there for the second time,” the officer said. he said.

She said Siya and Chetan wanted to “eliminate” Ketan before she and the businessman were scheduled to go to Bali for a pre-wedding photo shoot. This trip did not take place due to Ketan’s passport mysteriously disappearing before the trip.

“Siya once again insisted that Ketan go to Lohagad on June 14. That day, he allegedly tried to push Ketan down the cliff. However, Siya managed to hold on to a bush. When Ketan wondered why he was pushed, he tried to make it look like he was protecting him by raising a false alarm about a snake,” the officer said.

He added that following these developments, investigators expanded the investigation and analyzed technical evidence, including call detail records and digital communication data.

According to him, when Siya’s call records were examined, it was revealed that there was intense communication between her and a person who turned out to be her lover Chetan Chaudhary.

“We found that there were thousands of conversations between the two over a long period of time, including several that lasted many hours.

“Technical analysis established a close link between the duo and pointed to a well-thought-out conspiracy. We then examined photographs and social media profiles linked to Chaudhary. Comparison of this footage with CCTV footage from the fort showing a hooded figure in the area helped police narrow down their interest in him,” he said.

He added that based on technical evidence and intelligence collected by Lonavala Rural Police Station and Local Crime Branch (LCB), the teams tracked down Chaudhary and detained him for questioning. “During interrogation, we connected all the dots, which revealed a premeditated conspiracy involving Siya and Chetan,” he said.

Police said this reason was due to Siya’s relationship with Chetan and her reluctance to continue her marriage with Ketan.

“During interrogation, Chetan was asked why they did not consider elopement and instead chose to eliminate Ketan. According to him, Siya was not in favor of canceling the engagement and eloping with Chetan because she felt that it would bring disrespect to her family,” he said.

The police later arrested both Siya and Chaudhary and booked them on charges of murder and criminal conspiracy.

Ketan, a resident of Gahunje in Pune district, was the director and marketing manager of family-run real estate company Success Group. While Siya had a commerce degree from a private college, he had a master’s degree in Entrepreneurship.

It was published – 24 June 2026 11:51 IST