The investigation into the alleged murder of realtor Ketan Agarwal has taken a fresh turn after Pune Police reportedly recovered deleted chats from the mobile phone of the prime accused, Siya Goyal.
Investigators are now analysing the conversations to determine whether they shed light on the alleged conspiracy and if more people were involved.
According to police sources, one of the recovered chats shows Siya asking a friend to share both sides of her Aadhaar card for booking wedding tickets.
The message allegedly reads: “Adhar card front back bhejde. For wedding tickets jo hone nai wali parr fir bhi bhej de" (“Send me photos of the front and back of your Aadhaar card. It’s for booking wedding tickets for a wedding that was never going to happen, but send it anyway.").
The friend reportedly replied that the Aadhaar card had already been shared on WhatsApp.
Investigators are examining the context of the conversation to determine whether it is linked to events before or after Agarwal’s alleged murder.
Coded chats under investigation
The recovered messages are part of deleted data retrieved from the mobile phones seized during the investigation.
Police had earlier informed the court that several chats contained coded language, nicknames and emojis. Investigators are now decoding these conversations to establish whether they point to the involvement of a third person in the alleged murder conspiracy.
Accused in judicial custody
Siya Goyal and co-accused Chetan Chaudhary are currently in 14-day judicial custody after refusing to undergo a polygraph test. Police continue to analyse digital evidence recovered from their devices.
Investigators have also recovered a second mobile phone allegedly concealed by Siya Goyal. The device has been sent for forensic examination.
Meanwhile, police have questioned a youth from Maharashtra’s Beed district after learning that Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary allegedly shared details of the murder plan with him. According to investigators, the youth claimed he had advised the duo not to carry out the alleged plan.
Police are examining the digital evidence.
