A nearly 11-hour period during which murder accused Chetan Chaudhary allegedly remained offline on the day Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal died has emerged as a critical breakthrough in the ongoing investigation, with police claiming that the strategy intended to evade detection ultimately helped expose the alleged conspiracy.
Ketan Agarwal, a Pune-based realtor, died after falling from a cliff during a trek to Lohagad Fort near Lonavala on June 18. Police have since arrested his fiancée, Siya Goyal, 20, and Chetan Chaudhary, 22, alleging that the duo conspired to murder him.
According to investigators, Chetan switched off the internet connection on his mobile phone at around 7 am on June 18 and remained digitally inactive until approximately 5:40 pm. Police allege that he intentionally left his own mobile phone at his shop and carried an employee's phone to avoid location tracking.
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However, investigators say the prolonged digital silence itself became a major red flag.
Police examined every call made during the 'offline' period
According to police officials, investigators scrutinised all incoming calls received on Chetan's phone during the period he was allegedly offline. They found that although calls were answered, the accused himself never spoke to callers.
Instead, employees working at his shop allegedly answered the calls, prompting investigators to summon one of the employees for questioning.
Police have also examined the call detail records (CDRs) of Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary, which investigators claim revealed the extent of communication between the two.
X Dinesh Tayade, Senior Police Inspector at Lonavla Rural Police Station and the investigating officer in the case, said that the accused had been in frequent contact over several months.
"After analysing the CDR data between the two accused, it has come to our notice that there were over 2,004 calls between them, averaging around 8-10 calls per day," Tayade said.
According to investigators, the duo spent approximately 238 hours speaking to each other between January 1 and June 18.
Police probing alleged conspiracy angle
Pune Rural Superintendent of Police Sandeep Singh Gill confirmed that investigators had recovered call records and chat exchanges between the two accused.
"Yes, we have recovered calls and chats between Siya and her boyfriend, and further analysis of that data is ongoing," Gill said.
Police suspect that Siya, who became engaged to Ketan Agarwal in February and was scheduled to marry him in November, was unwilling to proceed with the arranged marriage but feared social repercussions if she called off the engagement.
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Investigators further claim that searches related to methods of committing murder were conducted on mobile devices allegedly linked to the accused. Police are also examining claims that Lohagad Fort was specifically selected as the location for the crime.
The investigation gained momentum after Ketan's family reportedly found Siya's behaviour following the incident unusual.
In an interview with HT, Vishal Agarwal, Ketan's father, stated that while the family was grief-stricken, Siya maintained her composure and was making plans with the police personnel present at the spot.
On the other hand, Babulal Chaudhary, the father of Chetan, has rejected all the accusations leveled against his son and stated that false cases are being framed against him.
FAQs
Q1. Why does Chetan Chaudhary's 640 minutes of being offline become crucial in the Ketan Agarwal Murder Case?
As per the police, Chetan has been staying offline for nearly 11 hours in order to escape the process of digital tracking. The police also claim that this digital blackout turned out to be the most important clue in this case.
Q2. What is the number of times Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary communicated with each other before the incident occurred?
As per the information obtained from Pune Rural Police, the call detail records revealed that the two accused called each other more than 2,004 times and talked for around 238 hours between January and June 2026.
