The double life behind the Lohagad tragedy: Deconstructing the Siya Goyal case

As Pune police uncover a web of secret vows and digital trails, the investigation into Ketan Agrawal’s death reveals a chilling disparity between a public engagement and a hidden marriage.

The investigation into the death of Pune-based realtor Ketan Agrawal has taken a dark turn, shifting from a tragic accident to a complex criminal inquiry. For months, the narrative surrounding Siya Goyal appeared straightforward: she was a young woman deeply embedded in the rituals of a forthcoming wedding. She was a fixture at family functions, actively planning a November ceremony in Rajasthan, and maintaining a digital presence that celebrated her relationship with Agrawal. Even after his fatal fall from Lohagad Fort on June 18, her public grief—marked by an emotional birthday tribute—seemed to cement her role as the mourning fiancée.

A digital trail of deception

However, police investigators probing the siya goyal case are now working with a starkly different timeline. Digital forensics have peeled back the layers of her public persona, pointing toward a secret life that predates the tragedy. According to sources within the pune police, evidence recovered from mobile devices—including WhatsApp chats, call records, and location history—suggests that siya goyal had already entered into a marriage with her alleged lover, Chetan Chaudhary, nearly four months before Agrawal’s death.

The technical teams are currently attempting to recover deleted images from a private Instagram account, which reportedly feature the couple adorned in wedding garlands. Investigators believe the union was solemnized with the assistance of two college friends who acted as witnesses, all while Goyal continued to move forward with the pre-wedding preparations for ketan. The level of orchestration required to maintain this duality is what has baffled officials the most.

The evidence of the 'double life'

The discord between the public and private narrative is best captured in the communications police have now seized. While the times reported that families were already booking travel arrangements for the November nuptials, internal messages paint a contradictory picture. In a Snapchat message sent to a friend in May, Goyal reportedly requested Aadhaar details for travel bookings while simultaneously casting doubt on whether the wedding would actually occur. This specific detail is now central to the prosecution’s theory that the engaged status was merely a facade.

The bigger picture: Why it matters

Beyond the sensational elements of this investigation, the case highlights the growing intersection between digital forensics and criminal jurisprudence in India. In an age where personal relationships are documented extensively on social media, investigators are increasingly finding that the "truth" of a crime often lies in the friction between a curated public life and a hidden digital footprint. This case serves as a grim reminder of how metadata—often overlooked in traditional investigations—can dismantle even the most carefully constructed alibis. As the police work to secure a marriage certificate to establish the sequence of events, the focus remains on whether this hidden marriage served as the primary motive for the events that transpired at the fort.