Siya Goyal, lover searched 'Mansi Govindpurkar' & 'woman kills family by mushroom' before Ketan Agarwal’s killing: What chargesheet says

The alleged plan to kill Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal at Lohagad Fort took shape after his fiancé Siya Goyal and her alleged lover Chetan Chaudhary researched online reports about the death of a young woman at the same location in 2025, according to the chargesheet filed by Pune Rural police before the Wadgaon Maval court. Agarwal, 26, died on June 18. His death was initially believed to have been an accidental fall from Lohagad Fort. However, the subsequent investigation concluded that he had allegedly been pushed, police said.

The 5,053-page chargesheet, filed on September 19, names Goyal, Chaudhary and Ritesh Hange as accused in the murder case. It cites mobile phone data, call detail records, social media material, messages, photographs, witness statements and technical analysis certificates as evidence.

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Ketan Agarwal murder: Fiancé allegedly did not want to marry him

According to the chargesheet, Goyal did not want to marry Agarwal, despite the couple getting engaged on February 19 this year.

Police allege that Goyal subsequently conspired with Chaudhary and Hange to eliminate Agarwal and make his death appear to be an accident.

The chargesheet says Goyal and Chaudhary searched Google, YouTube and social media platforms for information about deaths, trekking incidents and ways of concealing evidence.

‘Sonam Case’, mushroom searches among alleged online research

Investigators have claimed that the accused also searched for information related to the Meghalaya honeymoon murder of Raja Raghuvanshi, as well as methods to delete phone and online data.

The searches cited in the chargesheet included terms such as “Death Cap Mushroom India”, “Women Kills Family by Mushroom”, “Easy way to kill someone”, “Sonam Case”, “Lohagad Fort”, “How to format iPhone - No history on calls”, “How to Delete Google Account”, “Trekking Incident” and “How not to get manipulated”.

Mansi Govindpurkar case and Lohagad Fort connection

A key part of the alleged planning involved the death of Mansi Govindpurkar, a 21-year-old woman from Sangvi who went missing on March 18, 2025 after leaving home for college.

Her last mobile location was traced to Lohagad. CCTV footage showed her arriving alone in a taxi and entering the fort.

A search operation involving police and the Shivdurg rescue team found her body two days later in bushes near the foothills of Lohagad, close to the Navgraha temple area.

Police had initially examined whether she had fallen from the fort or died due to another cause. Later reports attributed her death to suicide, allegedly linked to distress over health problems and her inability to appear for her LLB third-year examination.

Facebook post allegedly linked Goyal to Lohagad case

According to the prosecution, Goyal came across information about Govindpurkar’s death in a Facebook post and later discussed the Lohagad location with Chaudhary.

The two allegedly decided that Agarwal could be pushed from the fort so that his death would appear to be an accidental fall. Police said information about the location was also shared with Hange.

Investigators allege that the accused subsequently carried out further searches relating to Lohagad, trekking incidents and deaths involving falls in the Lonavala region.

The digital material recovered during the investigation has been submitted to the court as part of the chargesheet.

Ketan Agarwal murder: Contract killer plan allegedly explored

The chargesheet also states that the accused had explored other ways of eliminating Agarwal before allegedly settling on the Lohagad plan.

According to police, they had initially attempted to arrange a contract killer but eventually decided to carry out the murder themselves.

The allegations are part of the chargesheet filed before the Wadgaon Maval court, and the case will be subject to proceedings before the court.


Inputs from TOI