Codewords, nicknames, emojis: Cops to decode Siya Goyal’s ‘secret chats’ to unravel Ketan Agarwal murder plot | Pune News
PUNE: Investigators probing the murder of Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal have recovered digital chats containing coded language, nicknames and emojis from the mobile phones seized from the alleged accused, Siyal Goyal.Police have said that the data can be interpreted only by the accused, news agency PTI reported.“Data from the phones seized earlier has already been retrieved, and investigators have received the forensic report. The recovered chats contain coded language, including nicknames and emojis, whose meaning can be explained only by the accused,” assistant public prosecutor Rajashree Virkud informed the court.Despite seeking an extension of custodial interrogation to decode the conversations, police failed to convince the court, which remanded Siya and her alleged lover Chetan Chaudhary to 14 days’ judicial custody till July 16.The two were produced before judicial magistrate first class AM Vibhute after their police custody expired. The prosecution argued that custodial questioning was necessary to confront the accused together and establish the context of the digital evidence recovered.Goyal and Chaudhary are accused of pushing Agarwal to his death from a cliff at Lohagad Fort in Pune district on June 18. Agarwal and Goyal were engaged and scheduled to marry in November this year.The prosecution told the court that police had conducted a panchnama at the location where Goyal allegedly disposed of Agarwal’s passport while travelling towards Mumbai, PTI reported.Another panchnama was carried out at a site where the accused allegedly rehearsed the murder, prosecutors said.Police have also recovered a second mobile phone belonging to Goyal, which has been sent to the forensic science laboratory for examination. According to prosecutors, forensic analysis of previously seized phones has already been completed.Defence lawyers opposed the request for further custody, arguing that all electronic devices had already been seized and that the accused were cooperating with the investigation.Chaudhary’s counsel termed the prosecution’s plea a “fishing inquiry” without concrete evidence.After hearing both sides, the court declined the request for extended police custody.Police also dropped their request to conduct polygraph tests on the accused. When questioned by the magistrate, the prosecution said it was not pressing for lie-detector tests at this stage.Meanwhile, Pune Rural superintendent of police Sandip Singh Gill said several key witnesses who were present near the crime spot had come forward, and their statements were being recorded.“We have evidence to establish that a murder was committed,” Gill said.He added that financial transactions between the accused were also under scrutiny. Details regarding money allegedly transferred by Agarwal to Goyal would be disclosed at an appropriate stage, he said.(With agency inputs)
