Lohagad Fort death takes shocking turn: Pune-based builder was ‘murdered,’ says police

Police have sought an extension of custody for the two prime accused in Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal's murder case, saying they are still trying to decode chats containing language, nicknames, and emojis. Ketan Agarwal's family members and society residents hold a candlelight march at Pimpri-Chinchwad to pay tribute to him, in Pune.(ANI)The prosecution in the murder case of Pune-based realtor Ketan Agarwal on Friday sought a three-day extension of police custody for the two prime accused, Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary, arguing that further custodial interrogation was necessary to decode alleged coded messages recovered from their mobile phones.Coded conversations of Siya and Chetan found, prosecutors request three-day extensionAccording to news agency PTI, Goyal and Chaudhary were produced before Judicial Magistrate First Class AM Vibhute after their police custody expired. The two are accused of killing Agarwal by allegedly pushing him off Lohagad Fort, a popular tourist destination near Pune, on 18 June.Seeking an extension of their custody, the prosecution told the court that investigators had recovered digital evidence indicating that both the accused had communicated using symbols, nicknames and coded language that could only be deciphered with their assistance.Quick answers to key questions•5 QUESTIONSProsecutors claim that coded messages and digital evidence retrieved from the mobile phones of Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary are crucial for decoding their communications related to the murder plan.Investigators suspect Goyal and Chaudhary rehearsed the murder as they conducted a panchnama at a location where they allegedly planned Agarwal's death, suggesting premeditation.Police sought an extension of custody for Goyal and Chaudhary to facilitate further interrogation and to decode the coded language found in their recovered chats.Granting the prosecution's request may allow additional time to decipher critical evidence, which could be pivotal in establishing the sequenced events leading to Agarwal's murder.Ketan Agarwal was engaged to Siya Goyal, who, along with her lover Chetan Chaudhary, is accused of his premeditated murder.Assistant Public Prosecutor Rajashree Virkud told the court that investigators had also conducted a panchnama at a location where Goyal and Chaudhary allegedly rehearsed the plan to kill Agarwal.View full ImageMurder accused Siya Goyal and her lover Chetan Chaudhary, rehearsed the crime prior to Ketan Agarwal's death on June 18.(ANI Video Grab)"Investigators also carried out a panchnama at the place where Goyal and Chaudhary allegedly rehearsed how to kill Agarwal," Virkud was quoted as saying.She further informed the court that the police had recovered an additional mobile phone allegedly belonging to Goyal and had sent it to the forensic science laboratory (FSL) for detailed examination."Data from the phones seized earlier has already been retrieved, and investigators have received the forensic report. The recovered chats contain coded language, including nicknames and emojis, whose meaning can be explained only by the accused," she said.Police allege that Goyal and Chaudhary conspired to kill Agarwal and executed the plan during a visit to Lohagad Fort in Pune district. Investigators suspect that the accused may have carried out a rehearsal before the incident, an allegation that forms a key part of the prosecution's argument for seeking further custody.View full ImageSiya and Ketan got engaged in February and were scheduled to get married in a grand wedding ceremony at Udaipur in November(X)The prosecution argued that while forensic analysis had revealed the existence of coded exchanges between the accused, investigators required additional time to determine the precise meaning and context of the messages, which could prove crucial to establishing the sequence of events leading up to Agarwal's death.The court was hearing the prosecution's plea for an extension of police custody after the initi