TWO PEOPLE, besides Siya Goyal, Chetan Chaudhary and Chetan’s friend Ritesh Hange, knew about the trio’s alleged plan to murder Ketan Agarwal and tried to dissuade them from carrying it out, the Pune Rural police probe has revealed. The two — one known to Ritesh and another linked to Siya — have been made witnesses in the case, sources said.The Pune Rural police, probing the June 18 murder of Ketan Agarwal at Lohagad Fort in Pune’s Maval taluka, arrested his fiancée Siya Goyal (20) and Chetan Chaudhary (22) on June 23. Police arrested Chetan’s friend Ritesh Hange (22) on September 5 for his alleged role in the conspiracy.Last week, the Pune Rural police filed a 5,053-page chargesheet against the trio on charges including murder and criminal conspiracy. Police have also invoked provisions of the Information Technology Act after the probe revealed that the accused allegedly used a fake Instagram account in the name and identity of a fictitious friend of Siya, “Mahi”, to chat with Ketan and convince him to visit Lohagad Fort on June 18 to celebrate Siya’s birthday the following day.“Investigation has revealed that two people besides Siya, Chetan and Ritesh knew about the trio’s plan to murder Ketan Agarwal. One of the two persons is a man known to Ritesh Hange and currently resides outside Maharashtra. He was contacted for his help to harm Ketan. But this person tried to dissuade them from acting on their plan. The second is a person linked to Siya. This person too made attempts to persuade the accused not to execute their plan. Both these persons have been made witnesses in the case and their statements have been recorded and are part of the chargesheet,” said an officer from Pune Rural police.What initially appeared to be a tragic accident at Lohagad Fort later emerged as a planned murder, according to the Pune Rural police probe. Investigators have alleged that Ketan, 26, who belonged to a prominent realtor family in Pune, was pushed off a cliff at Lohagad Fort on June 18 as part of a conspiracy allegedly orchestrated by his fiancée Siya and Chetan. The two were arrested on June 23.Police said Siya and Ketan got engaged on February 19 and were to marry later this year. However, investigators claim Siya had been in a relationship with Chetan since October last year and was unwilling to go ahead with the marriage. Siya, Chetan and Hange are currently in judicial custody.Pune Rural Superintendent of Police Sandeep Singh Gill had earlier said Hange was arrested after his role in the conspiracy was established. He said investigators found incriminating evidence against him after retrieving deleted data from phone communications between the accused.Story continues below this adThe probe had earlier revealed that the accused deleted several chats and other communications after the incident. Their seized phones were sent for cyber-forensic analysis.According to officers investigating the case, Siya had earlier derailed a planned pre-wedding shoot with Ketan in Bali by stealing his passport and later discarding it in the washroom of a food mall on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway.Police have also said that days before they allegedly pushed Ketan off the Lohagad Fort cliff on June 18, Siya and Chetan rehearsed how they would execute their alleged plan to murder him. According to police, the rehearsal took place in an open space next to a club lounge in Pune’s Lulla Nagar area.Sushant Kulkarni is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express in Pune with 12+ years of experience covering issues related to Crime, Defence, Internal Security and Courts. He has been associated with the Indian Express since July 2010. Sushant has extensively reported on law and order issues of Pune and surrounding area, Cyber crime, narcotics trade and terrorism. His coverage in the Defence beat includes operational aspects of the three services, the defence research and development and issues related to key defence establishments. He has covered several sensitive cases in the courts at Pune. Sushant is an avid photographer, plays harmonica and loves cooking. ... Read MoreClick here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our storiesTags:punePune crime