It was meant to be just another trek for Ketan Agarwal, a businessman from the western Indian city of Pune, when he set off with his fiancée to a hilltop fortress on 18 June. Instead, the 26-year-old plunged nearly 400ft into a gorge.
What was initially thought to be a tragic accident quickly became a murder investigation, involving an alleged love triangle and what police described as a meticulously planned conspiracy.
Agarwal was visiting the popular trekking site of Lohagad Fort with his fiancée Siya Goyal, 20, when he fell to his death. But CCTV footage allegedly showed a third person – Ms Goyal's friend Chetan Chaudhary, 22 – at the fort. He was seen wearing a black hoodie despite the summer heat, a detail police have described as suspicious.
Ms Goyal and Mr Chaudhary have now been arrested for their alleged involvement in Agarwal's death, prompting shock and generating widespread public interest in the case.
Neither Ms Goyal nor Mr Chaudhary has made a public statement, but their lawyers have strongly denied the allegations.
What happened during the trek?
Agarwal and Ms Goyal, both from affluent business families, got engaged in February and were due to have a lavish destination wedding at a palace in the northern city of Udaipur later this year.
Preparations were already underway, with flights booked for guests, venues reserved, and plans made to shoot a pre-wedding video.
Police alleged that when the couple reached the fort, Mr Chaudhary was already waiting. He kept his distance to avoid suspicion before allegedly following them to the edge of the hill. Police also said that Ms Goyal and Mr Chaudhary had agreed on a signal for when to push Agarwal. It was Ms Goyal sitting down on the ground to rest. As soon as she did that, investigators alleged, Mr Chaudhary pushed Agarwal off the hill.
At around 10.45am, Ms Goyal’s mother called Agarwal’s mother, informing her that he had accidentally fallen into a gorge at the fort.
Police arrived soon after and, with the help of local volunteers, recovered Agarwal from the gorge and took him to hospital, where he was declared dead.
According to the formal complaint filed in the case, Ms Goyal had persuaded Agarwal the night before the incident to take her to the fort to celebrate her upcoming birthday.
"During our investigation, we came across some information and after talking to their friends and relatives, we grew suspicious,” police officer Sandeep Gill said.
"Ketan was an experienced trekker and it’s hard to believe he would suddenly slip and die like that. His family also expressed some doubts and lodged a complaint.”
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Mr Gill said call records and other evidence suggested “Siya was in a relationship with Chetan and was unwilling to go through with the marriage with Ketan".
He said investigators suspected the pair "conspired to kill Ketan by pushing him from the fort to make the murder look like an accident".
According to senior police inspector Dinesh Tayade, CCTV footage showed a man wearing a hoodie on the trek, raising suspicion that a third person was involved.
"When we checked the 18 June temperature, it was 33C that morning. During scrutiny of CCTV footage from the foothills, we noticed a person wearing a hoodie with his head covered and also wearing headphones. This raised suspicion because such clothing was unusual given the weather conditions," Mr Tayade said.
After arresting them, police took Ms Goyal and Mr Chaudhary to the fort to conduct a crime scene reconstruction and gait analysis.
What are the families saying?
Agarwal's father blamed Ms Goyal for his son's death and demanded the death penalty if she was convicted.
"Ketan and Siya were engaged in February. If she didn’t want to marry, she could have refused. We would have cancelled the marriage immediately," Vishal Agarwal said.
He said the couple had visited the fort twice before the fatal trek. They first went on 31 May and then Ms Goyal insisted she wanted to go on 5 June. That plan was cancelled, but they went on 14 June and during that trek she allegedly tried to push him.
“She pushed him down but he took support of a tree and survived the fall and she immediately started saying there was a snake and that she was trying to save him from the snake," he alleged.
A few days later, he claimed, Ms Goyal again asked his son to go on the trek to celebrate her upcoming birthday.
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"I considered Siya my daughter-in-law. She had come to our house for our birthday party and dinners. I met her many times, we even went shopping together," Agarwal’s mother, Pakhi Agarwal, said.
"I want justice for Ketan, and I want the death penalty for Siya," she said. "I am a mother too, yet I want the death penalty for Siya and for Chetan."
The Agarwal family and residents of their housing society later held a candlelight march, carrying placards demanding justice for their son.
Ms Goyal's father, Praveen Goyal, a businessman, said the family was shocked and struggling to believe what had happened.
"The Agarwals have lost their son. We also loved Ketan a lot. I had started to think of him as my own son. I feel great sadness at his death," he said.
Her mother said the death had "devastated" both families. "We are heartbroken. Ketan was a really good man. Whoever is found guilty must receive the strictest punishment," she told reporters. "We'd asked Siya repeatedly if she liked and wanted to marry Ketan and she said she loved him. They were very happy together.”
Ms Goyal’s lawyer, Vipul Dushing, said that she had fully cooperated with investigators and would continue to do so.
“We have stated that the accused has fully cooperated with the police so far and remains ready to cooperate fully in the future. That is the stance we have taken," the lawyer said.
He maintained that Ms Goyal was innocent. “Her arrest is unnecessary and has happened in a haphazard manner without any legal reason. There is no evidence and police are just drawing inferences," he told the BBC.
The Independent has reached out to Mr Dushing for comment.
Mr Chaudhry’s lawyer said that “there is no direct allegation” against his client and that he had been arrested only because he was Ms Goyal’s friend.
"The police have no concrete evidence of Chetan being present or roaming around in the Lohagad area, and no documents have been presented to the court in this regard," Ram Shahane said.
The case has come to dominate Indian TV news, digital news platforms and regional Marathi media. Pictures and videos of the couple from their social media platforms as well as pictures of Ms Goyal with Mr Chaudhary have been repeatedly broadcast.
One pre-wedding video showing Agarwal dancing with Ms Goyal's father has gone viral, attracting millions of views.
The case has also sparked a debate on relationships, marriage and the growing disconnect between traditional expectations and the dating lives of urban Gen Z.
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