Pune, July 3 (IANS) The prime accused in the Ketan Agarwal murder case, Siya Goyal, and co-accused Chetan Chaudhary will be produced before the Vadgaon Court on Friday as their police remand comes to an end. The Lonavala Police are expected to seek an extension of their custody and request the court’s permission to conduct polygraph tests on both accused as part of the ongoing investigation.

The hearing is being viewed as a crucial development in the high-profile murder case, with the court’s decision on both the remand extension and the proposed lie detection tests likely to influence the next phase of the probe.

The two accused are scheduled to be produced before the Vadgaon Court at 3 p.m. by the Lonavala Police.

Earlier, the court had granted the police seven days of custody, which was subsequently extended by four more days to enable investigators to question the accused on 18 key aspects of the case. As a result, both Siya and Chetan have undergone intensive interrogation for a total of 11 days.

As part of the investigation, the police on Thursday took Siya Goyal to her residence, where they seized clothes suspected to have been worn during the commission of the crime, a mobile phone, and other documents considered relevant to the investigation.

She was later taken to a cafe in Pune’s Lullanagar area, where investigators believe the conspiracy to murder businessman Ketan Agarwal was allegedly hatched. Police recorded her statement at the location and carried out an inspection to verify electronic and other evidence linked to the case.

A key issue before the court is the police application seeking permission to conduct polygraph examinations on both accused. According to sources, Siya Goyal and her counsel, Advocate Vipul Dushing, have submitted written consent agreeing to undergo the test. However, co-accused Chetan Chaudhary and his legal counsel are yet to clearly state their position before the court.

The court’s ruling on the police applications will determine the immediate course of the investigation. If the request for extended police custody is rejected, both accused are likely to be sent to Yerwada Central Jail under judicial custody while the investigation continues.

Ketan Agarwal was allegedly pushed to his death from a cliff at Lohagad Fort in Pune by Siya and Chetan. The investigation had earlier found that Siya and Chetan googled ways to kill Ketan. According to the police, Siya and Chetan went to the fort alone before committing the crime to “rehearse” the murder. The two had also prepared and practised their answers in case they were caught by the police.

–IANS

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