Why Lohagad? The fort Siya chose to kill her fiancé

"He was meant to stand by my side in my old age, to be my support until the very end, and one day light my funeral pyre. But someone's criminal act has taken my son away from me," Vishal Agarwal said days after his 26-year-old son, Ketan, died after falling from a cliff at Lohagad Fort in Maharashtra.

Police later alleged that Ketan was pushed by his 20-year-old fiance, Siya Goyal, who, along with her friend Chetan Chaudhary, conspired to kill him.

For the grieving family, the question is painfully simple: why?

Why would a woman who was set to marry Ketan in a few months allegedly plot his murder? Why did a relationship that had reached the stage of engagement end on the edge of a cliff? And why does the same fort keep appearing in the weeks leading up to Ketan's death?

A devastated family is left searching for answers. Investigators may eventually establish a motive, but the events preceding Ketan's death tell a story of their own.

Multiple visits to Lohagad Fort, a failed Bali trip, an earlier fall that Ketan survived, and a return to the same location days later have now become central to the investigation.

The India Today Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) team reconstructed the timeline of the couple's visits to Lohagad Fort and analysed elevation data and terrain features to understand why the fort repeatedly emerged in the weeks leading up to Ketan Agarwal's death.

In this case, Lohagad may not merely be the place where Ketan died. It may have been the place where the story had been unfolding all along.

India Today analysis shows that Lohagad rises nearly 600 feet above the surrounding terrain, with steep escarpments, exposed cliff faces and isolated stretches away from the main tourist routes. Originally built as a defensive hill fort centuries ago, several sections remain relatively secluded despite attracting thousands of visitors every year.

One of Lohagad's most distinctive features is its narrow ridges and steep natural defences that once protected the fort from invading armies. The terrain can rapidly shift from crowded pathways to exposed edges overlooking deep valleys.

Travel accounts of Lohagad frequently note how busy approach routes can quickly give way to quieter stretches along the fort's ridges and outer sections, where footfall tends to thin away from the main tourist paths.

The pre-monsoon period, particularly during the summer heat, often sees fewer visitors. Combined with the fort's exposed terrain and isolated sections, parts of Lohagad can become relatively quiet despite its popularity.

Yet the terrain alone does not answer the central question. The repeated appearance of the same fort in the weeks preceding Ketan's death, including planned visits, cancelled trips, an earlier fall and a return to the same location, adds another layer to the story.

Ketan and Siya got engaged in February. On May 31, the couple visited Lohagad Fort together.

Another trip to the fort was discussed on June 5, but it did not materialise. According to Ketan's father, the family felt there was little reason for the couple to visit the fort so often, though they did not suspect anything sinister.

A planned trip to Bali on June 6 involving four people was cancelled after Ketan's passport was allegedly stolen at the airport, forcing the group to return home.

But on June 14, the couple returned to Lohagad. The family permitted the trip because the Bali holiday had been unexpectedly cancelled and an earlier visit to the fort had not materialised.

Investigators are now treating that visit as a possible first attempt. According to police, Siya allegedly pushed Ketan off a cliff, but he survived after a tree branch broke his fall.

Ketan, however, reportedly accepted Siya's explanation. She allegedly told him that she had panicked after spotting a snake near the cliff edge and had pushed him away to protect him.

The incident has since assumed greater significance. Investigators are examining whether the June 14 fall was a failed attempt, with Ketan returning to the same fort days later, unaware that the danger may not have been the cliff itself.

On June 18, investigators allege that Siya Goyal and her friend, Chetan Chaudhary, pushed Ketan from a cliff at Lohagad Fort.

According to Pune Rural SP Sandeep Singh Gill, the case initially appeared to be an accidental fall after Siya informed authorities that Ketan had slipped. However, investigators began questioning the circumstances surrounding the death, as an experienced trekker was considered unlikely to have fallen accidentally.

Police later concluded that Siya and Chetan, who had known each other for nearly a year, had conspired to kill Ketan.

Investigators reviewing CCTV footage from Lohagad noticed Ketan and Siya walking together, followed by another man wearing a hoodie pulled low over his face and a headset. The footage also showed Siya looking back while the man suddenly sat down. The temperature at the time was around 33 degrees Celsius, raising questions about why he was dressed in a hoodie despite the heat.

India Today spoke to Dheeraj Jadhav, a gatekeeper at Lohagad Fort, who recalled seeing a man matching the description of the individual seen in the CCTV footage on the day of the incident. According to Jadhav, the man, whom investigators later identified as Chetan Chaudhary, was wearing a mask and was fully covered in a long-sleeved sports outfit.

When Jadhav asked him to purchase the Rs 25 entry ticket, Chetan allegedly said he was heading up the fort for exercise. The gatekeeper said Chetan refused to buy the ticket and proceeded towards the fort.

A few hours later, on June 18, the Agarwal family said they were informed about Ketan's alleged fall after receiving a call from Siya's mother.

According to Ketan's father, the June 18 trip was planned around Siya's birthday on June 19. He told news agency ANI that Siya had called Ketan's mother and persuaded the family to allow him to join what was described as a birthday outing with friends. The family had originally planned to celebrate the occasion at the Mahabaleshwar temple, but eventually agreed to let Ketan go, unaware that he would never return home.

After Ketan's death, Siya posted an emotional message on Instagram: "You left me on my birthday. You left when we were so close to getting married."

The message mourned a lost future. The allegations that later emerged, however, suggest a far more disturbing reality behind Ketan's death.

For investigators, the fort's geography and the sequence of events have now become inseparable parts of the case.

A Pune court has remanded Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary to police custody till June 29.

For Ketan's father, however, the questions remain deeply personal.

"If she did not want to marry him, she could have simply refused. We would have cancelled the wedding immediately," he said.

- Ends