Siya Goyal, Chetan Chaudhary sent to 14-day judicial custody as court rejects polygraph plea

A court on Friday remanded Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary, the two accused in the alleged murder of realtor Ketan Agarwal, to 14 days of judicial custody, ruling that a polygraph examination could not be conducted without their consent. The two declined to undergo the lie detector test and were later shifted to Yerawada Central Prison.

The matter came before Judicial Magistrate First Class AM Vibhute, where the police sought permission to conduct a polygraph examination on the accused.

Court rules consent mandatory for polygraph test

During the hearing, lawyers representing Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary opposed the police request for a lie detector test.

Taking note of the accused's refusal to undergo the examination, the court observed that such a test cannot be carried out unless the accused voluntarily agrees to it. The police request was consequently rejected.

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The Lonavla Rural Police informed the court that investigators had retrieved deleted data from the mobile phones seized from both accused.

According to the police, the recovered material contains conversations in coded language that investigators believe could indicate the involvement of a third person in the alleged conspiracy.

Police also told the court they had recovered a second mobile phone that Siya allegedly concealed. The handset will be sent for forensic analysis.

Investigation continues

Investigators said the analysis of the recovered digital evidence is still in progress and that deciphering the alleged coded conversations could help determine whether another person assisted Siya and Chetan in planning or carrying out the alleged murder.

Assistant Police Inspector Manoj Pawar, the investigating officer, told the court that police had verified the sequence of events described by Chetan and seized the trousers he was allegedly wearing during the incident.

Police also conducted a panchnama at the location where Siya allegedly disposed of her passport and seized the clothes she was allegedly wearing at the time of the crime. Another panchnama was carried out at the spot where the accused allegedly rehearsed the murder plan.

Defence opposes further police custody

Assistant Public Prosecutor Rajshree Virkud argued that substantial progress had been made during police custody and maintained that decoding the alleged coded conversations could establish whether a third person was involved.

However, Siya's counsel Vipul Dushing opposed any further police custody, arguing that both mobile phones had already been seized. He submitted that investigators should rely on their own expertise to analyse the recovered data instead of seeking additional custody.

Advocate Ram Shahane, appearing for Chetan Chaudhary, also opposed the police plea, arguing that the request for a face-to-face interrogation of the accused lacked specificity.

About the case

Ketan Agarwal, 25, a director of a real estate firm, died after falling from a cliff at Lohagad in Pune district's Maval taluka on June 18.

The case was initially registered as an accidental death before police suspected it to be a murder, alleging the involvement of Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary.

The duo was arrested on June 23 and remained in police custody until July 3, when the court remanded them to judicial custody