The shocking murder of Pune businessman Ketan Agarwal at Lohagad Fort has taken an even more disturbing turn, with his father now saying the family would have simply cancelled the wedding if his fiancée had revealed that she was in love with another man.

Ketan Agarwal fell to his death in a gorge at Lohagad Fort while trekking with his fiancée, Siya Goyal. Initially, the incident was treated as an accidental death. However, a police probe later uncovered what investigators believe was a sinister murder plot.

Ketan’s father, Vishal Agarwal, told NDTV that his son had no idea about Siya’s alleged affair with Chetan Chaudhary. However, he had reportedly sensed that something was wrong because Siya’s phone would remain busy for hours.

Siya and Ketan, both from wealthy business families in Maharashtra, were engaged in February. Their families were planning a grand wedding in November. But on June 18, Ketan died after falling into a gorge during a trek with Siya.

Police now allege that Siya and her boyfriend Chetan Chaudhary pushed him to death.

Vishal Agarwal said Siya never openly expressed that she was unhappy with the engagement.

“We didn’t know that she wasn’t happy. Every other day, Ketan and Siya would go for dinners. She used to call him, my daughter and my wife. Siya never told my son about her affair. He, however, once told me that Siya’s phone would remain in waiting mode. Her phone always used to remain busy,” he said.

According to him, when Ketan questioned Siya about her phone being busy, she claimed that she had been speaking to her friends.

‘We Would Have Cancelled The Wedding’

Ketan’s father said there was no need for things to end in murder. He said that if Siya had informed the family about her relationship, even anonymously, they would have called off the marriage.

“If she had an affair with someone, she could have told anyone about it. She could have sent her and that man’s photos to us on WhatsApp. We would have called off the wedding. We had not forced her to marry Ketan,” he said.

He also suspected that Siya’s parents and aunt may have known about the affair and could have pressured her to go ahead with the marriage.

“Maybe they had some planning that we don’t know about yet. The police will find this out during the investigation. We don’t know why they did this,” he added.

Siya had initially managed to present the incident as an accident. However, her behaviour after Ketan’s death raised suspicion within the family.

Vishal Agarwal said his daughter Sanjana became suspicious after Siya failed to answer basic questions about how Ketan fell.

“Sanjana did not have suspicion earlier. But after Ketan’s death, she became suspicious about Siya’s role. It was unlike him to stop at the edge of a cliff. When the police brought the body out of the gorge, Sanjana asked Siya several questions, but she could not answer any of them. The questions were simple — how did this happen, when did this happen, why did he go to the edge? She had no answer,” he said.

Father Demands Death Penalty

Ketan’s father has demanded the death penalty for those involved in his son’s murder.

“I appeal to the police to go to the bottom of the conspiracy and find out if others were also involved. They should get the death penalty. They killed my 26-year-old son for such a trivial matter. Not wanting to marry is not a huge issue. We would have cancelled it,” he said.

According to police, this was not the first alleged attempt by Siya and Chetan to kill Ketan.

On May 31, Siya and Chetan reportedly visited Lohagad Fort. Four days later, Siya allegedly insisted that she and Ketan visit the fort again, but Ketan’s mother did not allow him to go.

On June 14, Ketan finally agreed to go. Police say Siya allegedly tried to push him off a cliff, but he survived by holding on to a bush. When Ketan asked why he had been pushed, Siya allegedly claimed she had saved him from a snake.

On June 18, police say Siya and Chetan met at a cafe in Pune and planned the murder. Later, Siya took Ketan to the fort while Chetan allegedly followed them from behind. The two then allegedly pushed Ketan into the gorge.

During the investigation, police identified Chetan in CCTV footage. He was reportedly wearing a hoodie despite the scorching heat, which raised suspicion.

What was first seen as a tragic trekking accident has now turned into a chilling murder case involving a secret affair, a broken engagement and a family demanding justice for their 26-year-old son.