PUNE, June 23: In a chilling echo of the 2025 Raja Raghuvanshi honeymoon murder in Sohra, a 26-year-old Pune real estate businessman was allegedly pushed to his death into a gorge by his fiancée and her lover just months before their lavish wedding.
Police on Tuesday arrested fiancée Siya Goyal and her lover Chetan Babulal Chaudhary (22) for allegedly murdering Ketan Agarwal, director of a family-run real estate firm. The incident took place on June 18 at Lohagad Fort near Pune.
Ketan had gone trekking with Siya to celebrate her birthday. The couple was set to marry in November, with families reportedly booking a Rajasthan palace for Rs 17 crore and arranging private planes for guests.
Initially, Siya claimed Ketan slipped and fell nearly 400 feet while posing for photos amid strong winds. His body was recovered after a three-hour rescue operation and an accidental death report was filed.
However, Pune Rural SP Sandip Singh Gill said suspicious circumstances led to a thorough probe. Police found Siya was in a relationship with Chaudhary and viewed Ketan as an obstacle. The duo allegedly conspired to kill him — Siya lured Ketan to the fort, Chaudhary joined them, and they pushed him off, staging it as an accident.
The case mirrors the sensational murder in Sohra, where Raja was killed at a scenic gorge near Wei Sawdong Falls during his honeymoon by his wife Sonam and her lover Raj Kushwaha, along with three hired assassins.
Although the Meghalaya and Pune cases share a chilling motive, yet their execution differ significantly. In the Meghalaya case, the murder took place days after Sonam and Raja Raghuvanshi’s legal marriage. Sonam and her lover Raj Kushwaha hired three contract killers from Madhya Pradesh, who allegedly hacked Raja with machetes near Wei Sawdong Falls and dumped his body in the remote gorge.
In the Pune case, the crime occurred before marriage. The victim and the accused were on a pre-wedding trip to Lohagad Fort, disguised as a birthday celebration. According to confessions, Siya and her lover Chetan personally pushed Ketan off the 400-foot gorge.
The cover-ups also varied. Sonam staged a disappearance and fled to Uttar Pradesh, forcing a massive multi-state search.
The remote, foggy terrain of Sohra complicated the investigation in Raja’s case, while the crowded tourist spot at Lohagad Fort enabled faster detection in Pune. (With inputs from PTI)
