20 September,2026 01:05 PM IST | Pune | mid-day online correspondent
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A 5,053-page chargesheet has been filed before a Pune court in the murder case of realtor Ketan Agarwal, with investigators alleging that his fiancee and two others created a fake Instagram account, studied similar murder cases and used online resources, including ChatGPT and podcasts, while planning the crime.
Agarwal died on June 18 after allegedly being pushed from Lohagad Fort. His fiancee Siya Goyal, her alleged lover Chetan Choudhary and Ritesh Hange were arrested in connection with the case.
A Pune Rural Police official, citing details from the chargesheet filed in the Vadgaon Maval court on Saturday, said the investigation had uncovered digital messages, photographs, mobile phone data, call records, witness statements and technical analysis reports that formed part of the evidence against the three accused.
According to the chargesheet, the accused allegedly created a fake Instagram account using the name "Mahi" to persuade Agarwal to travel to Lohagad Fort with Goyal.
Investigators said a photograph of a girl known to the accused was allegedly used for the account. A message was then sent from the account, purportedly by a friend of Goyal, asking Agarwal to bring his fiancee to Lohagad for a surprise birthday celebration.
The police official said Hange allegedly planned the exercise and that the fake account was deleted after Agarwal's death.
The chargesheet alleges that Choudhary entered the fort through an exit route and waited near a temple. Goyal allegedly signalled him to move ahead before the attack.
"When Agarwal was not alert, Goyal allegedly pushed him from behind near the shoulder, while Chaudhary pushed his leg. Chaudhary then kicked Agarwal, causing him to fall from the fort to his death," the police official said.
The chargesheet names Goyal, Choudhary and Hange as accused and includes statements from five eyewitnesses, according to the police official.
Investigators have also included messages exchanged by the accused, photographs, mobile phone data, call detail records and technical analysis certificates as evidence.
The chargesheet states that the three accused had initially considered a plan to seriously injure Agarwal with the help of a person from another state. They allegedly contacted several people as part of the plan but later abandoned the idea after becoming concerned that the involvement of an outsider could lead to their detection.
One of the people allegedly contacted during the initial planning has subsequently become a witness in the case, the official said.
According to the chargesheet, the accused later decided to kill Agarwal themselves and allegedly carried out extensive research before the crime.
Investigators said the trio watched murder-related films, conducted online searches and used ChatGPT as part of their preparations. They also allegedly listened to podcasts discussing ways to avoid detection by police.
The chargesheet states that Goyal had searched online for information about a similar incident at Lohagad in March last year in which a woman died.
Investigators have alleged that Lohagad was selected because the accused believed Agarwal's death could be made to appear like an accidental fall while taking a selfie.
The chargesheet also reportedly contains details of searches relating to the murder of Raja Raghuvanshi, an Indore resident whose death in Meghalaya had received widespread attention.
The investigation found several searches relating to the case of Sonam Raghuvanshi, who was arrested in connection with the murder of her husband, Raja Raghuvanshi, during their honeymoon in Meghalaya in May last year.
Raja went missing on May 23 last year and his body was recovered near a waterfall in East Khasi Hills district on June 2. The case subsequently became the subject of extensive media coverage.
Investigators have cited the searches as part of the material they examined while reconstructing the alleged planning of Agarwal's murder.
The chargesheet also describes alleged attempts to carry out the murder before June 18.
According to the police official, Goyal allegedly insisted on visiting Lohagad on June 4, with the accused reportedly seeking to execute the plan before a scheduled trip to Bali.
On June 6, while travelling for a pre-wedding photoshoot, Goyal allegedly tore Agarwal's passport and discarded it in a washroom at a cafe in Khalapur, preventing the planned trip from taking place, the official said.
Investigators also found that Goyal and Agarwal had visited Lohagad on June 14, four days before his death. According to the chargesheet, she allegedly attempted to push him during that visit but failed.
The chargesheet states that Goyal had pretended that a snake was nearby during the visit, allegedly as part of an attempt to create a situation in which Agarwal would move closer to the edge. The attempt, however, did not succeed.
(With inputs from PTI)
