Ketan Agrawal Murder Case Rocks Assembly; SIT Probe Ordered

According to police, 24-year-old Ketan Agrawal died on June 18 after allegedly falling from Lohagad Fort near Pune. His 20-year-old fiancée, Siya Goyal, initially told his family that he had slipped during a trek, and the case was treated as an accident. However, Agrawal’s family raised doubts about the circumstances of his death.

During the investigation, police examined CCTV footage from the fort’s ticket counter and spotted a hooded man following the couple. Investigators found his clothing unusual as the temperature was around 33 degrees Celsius that day. The man was later identified as Chetan Chaudhary. Police said CCTV footage and other evidence suggested that Goyal and Chaudhary had conspired to kill Agrawal because she did not want to marry him. They allegedly pushed him into a gorge at Lohagad Fort.

The issue was raised in the Assembly by NCP MLA Sunil Shelke, who demanded that Goyal’s family also be named as accused in the case. He alleged that her family had hidden her relationship with another man from Agrawal’s family.

Shelke also called for the case to be heard in a fast-track court. After the discussion, Khare directed the government to set up an SIT to investigate the case.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Bhaskar Jadhav questioned whether the presiding officer’s direction would be binding on the government. He referred to earlier instances where directions issued by the deputy chairperson of the Legislative Council were not implemented and said Assembly rulings had also not always been followed.

However, BJP MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar responded that the rules governing the Legislative Council and the Assembly were different.