Police on Sunday recreated the alleged murder of realtor Ketan Agarwal at Lohagad Fort, taking his fiancée Siya Goyal to the crime scene and using a dummy to reconstruct the sequence of events that led to his death on June 18.
The exercise was aimed at establishing the exact chain of events, officials said. As the police custody of Goyal (20) and her alleged lover Chetan Chaudhary (22) ends on Monday, investigators are expected to produce them before a court and seek further remand.
Police also disclosed fresh details of the alleged conspiracy, claiming Goyal had devised a pre-arranged signal for Chaudhary to push Agarwal off the cliff. According to investigators, she was to sit down either on the pretext of drinking water or tying her shoelaces, signalling that Agarwal was in position and Chaudhary could carry out the attack.
Officials said the signal had a second purpose: it ensured Goyal would remain out of Agarwal's reach during the fall.
"The signal was chosen deliberately so that Goyal would not be within the victim's reach during the fatal push. They feared that if Chetan pushed Ketan and the latter tried to grab Siya while falling, she too could fall into the gorge. The plan was made keeping her safety in mind," an investigating officer said.
Police described the murder as the result of meticulous planning. According to investigators, Goyal and Chaudhary have admitted that they had visited Lohagad Fort before the incident to identify a suitable spot to execute the plan and had also carried out a "practice" session. Police said they are still trying to ascertain where the alleged rehearsal took place.
Investigators also said Chaudhary carefully planned his movements to avoid leaving a trail. Instead of driving a car from Pune to Lohagad Fort, about 90 km away, he travelled on a scooter because he feared a car could be detected at toll plazas. The scooter has been seized.
Police further alleged that Chaudhary changed his appearance after reaching the fort. He climbed the hill wearing a hoodie, removed it and remained in a black T-shirt during the incident, before putting the hoodie back on while leaving, allegedly to avoid attracting attention.
After allegedly carrying out the murder, Chaudhary returned to Pune on the same scooter, officials said.
Goyal and Chaudhary were arrested for allegedly conspiring to murder 25-year-old Agarwal by pushing him off a cliff at Lohagad Fort on June 18.
Police on Saturday also questioned Goyal's father, mother and brother and recorded their statements as part of the investigation.
According to investigators, Agarwal was lured to Lohagad Fort by Goyal, who was engaged to marry him. Police allege that as per the plan, Goyal waited for the right moment before giving the pre-arranged signal by sitting down. Chaudhary, who had been following the couple, then approached from behind and allegedly pushed an unsuspecting Agarwal into the gorge.
Police said the accused executed the plan "perfectly", and the reconstruction carried out on Sunday was intended to verify the sequence of events and corroborate statements made during interrogation.
(With inputs from PTI)