The Ketan Agarwal murder case has taken a dramatic turn as Advocate Ashutosh Srivastava, claiming to represent accused Siya Goyal, served a Rs.10 crore defamation notice to her brother Sahil Goyal over alleged defamatory remarks. The dispute follows Ketan Agarwal’s death after falling into a gorge at Lohagad Fort near Pune on June 18.
The high-profile Ketan Agarwal murder case has taken an unexpected turn shifting focus away from the courtroom debate over the killing itself and toward a bitter legal conflict within the accused’s own family.
Advocate Ashutosh Srivastava, who says he represents accused Siya Goyal, has served a legal notice demanding Rs.10 crore in damages from her brother, Sahil Goyal. Srivastava alleges that Sahil made defamatory remarks that harmed his professional standing.
To understand why this development matters, it helps to revisit the incident that triggered everything. Pune businessman Ketan Agarwal died after falling into a gorge at Lohagad Fort near Pune on June 18.
What initially looked like a tragic accident quickly turned into a murder investigation. Police allege that Ketan was pushed deliberately as part of a conspiracy involving his fiancée, Siya Goyal, and her alleged lover, Chetan Chaudhary.
Investigators say the motive relates to a relationship Siya allegedly began with Chaudhary after meeting him at a Diwali party the year before. According to the police, Siya did not want to marry Ketan and treated him as an obstacle to her relationship with Chaudhary, even though her family reportedly pressured her to continue with the wedding.
The investigation has also surfaced several troubling details. Police claim the murder plot was planned in late May, and that there was an earlier attempt on Ketan’s life on June 14. He reportedly survived that first attempt by grabbing onto a bush while falling. Police allege that Siya later claimed she had accidentally pushed him after being startled by a snake. Investigators further allege that Siya called Chaudhary about 34 minutes before Ketan was ultimately pushed from the cliff on the day he died.
Both Siya Goyal, 20, and Chetan Chaudhary, 22, were arrested on June 18 in connection with the case. A magistrate court near Pune then extended the police custody of both accused until July 3, citing 18 grounds to justify the continued custody.
The notice alleges that Sahil’s media statement on June 29 where he claimed that Advocate Srivastava was never retained by the family is false and misleading, and has brought professional disrepute to the lawyer.
Siya Goyal is currently in police custody in connection with the alleged murder of her fiancé, Pune-based realtor Ketan Agarwal. Police allege that Ketan was pushed to his death from Lohagad Fort near Lonavala on June 18.
The investigation is being handled by Lonavala Rural Police, and the matter is presently before the magistrate court at Wadgaon Mawal, Pune, where remand proceedings are underway.
Srivastava maintains that Siya Goyal executed vakalatnamas on June 25 authorising him and his associates to represent her before the magistrate court as well as before the Bombay High Court. He says these vakalatnamas have been accepted and are already on record before the respective courts.
However, Advocate Vipul Dushing disputes this, stating that he was appointed by Siya Goyal’s family to represent the accused. He also claims that during the June 29 remand hearing, Goyal told the magistrate that she had engaged only Dushing as her lawyer.
The disagreement intensified after Sahil, Goyal’s brother, reportedly told the media on June 29 that Srivastava had not been hired by the family prompting a public confrontation over who is authorised to represent the accused.
Advocate Ashutosh Srivastava has sent a legal notice to Sahil Goyal, the brother of accused Siya Goyal, seeking Rs.10 crore in damages for public remarks challenging his appointment as her lawyer.
The notice includes concrete demands. Sahil is asked to withdraw the alleged defamatory statements immediately, issue a public apology, and submit a written undertaking that he will not repeat similar accusations in the future. If Sahil does not respond satisfactorily within the specified timeframe, Srivastava warns that he will initiate legal action, including a civil defamation claim seeking Rs.10 crore in damages.
Two parallel battlesWhile the investigation into Ketan Agarwal’s death continues alongside police custody proceedings, emerging motive theories, and forensic developments this new dispute has effectively created a separate battle within the case.
Instead of focusing on what happened at Lohagad Fort, the current controversy revolves around who is legally authorised to represent Siya Goyal and whether that authorisation was granted correctly.
Additionally, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assured Vishal Agarwal that the alleged murder of his son Ketan, 25, would be heard in a fast-track court. Fadnavis met Agarwal in Pune on Friday and also agreed to the family’s request to appoint senior advocate Ujjwal Nikam as the special public prosecutor for the case.
Senior advocate Ujjwal Nikam, who acted as the special public prosecutor in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks trial, has handled several significant and high-profile criminal prosecutions during his legal career.