Ketan Agarwal Murder Case: Advocate Sends Rs 10 Crore Defamation Notice To Siya Goyal's Brother

A fresh legal dispute has emerged in the Ketan Agarwal murder case, with advocate Aashutosh Srivastava sending a Rs 10 crore defamation notice to Sahil Goyal, the brother of prime accused Siya Goyal.

The notice follows Sahil Goyal's interview with India Today TV in which he denied that the Goyal family had appointed Srivastava to represent Siya. He also suggested that the advocate may have obtained Siya's signatures on legal documents through deception.

Why The Defamation Notice Was Sent

According to the legal notice, Srivastava described Sahil's statements as "false, baseless, defamatory and misleading" and claimed they had seriously damaged his professional reputation.

The notice seeks Rs 10 crore in damages and asks Sahil to withdraw the allegations, issue a public apology and provide a written assurance that he will not repeat similar statements.

The allegations contained in the legal notice are Srivastava's claims. Sahil Goyal has not publicly responded to the notice.

Dispute Over Siya Goyal's Lawyer

The disagreement also played out before the Vadgaon Maval court on Monday.

Srivastava appeared before the court claiming to represent Siya Goyal and submitted a vakalatnama that he said carried her signature.

However, Siya told the court that advocate Vipul Dushing was representing her. Her family also maintained that Dushing had been officially appointed to appear on her behalf.

Before the hearing, Sahil Goyal had publicly stated that Srivastava had neither been authorised nor appointed by the family. He also alleged that the advocate obtained Siya's signature "by deceit" and accused him of threatening the family.

Advocate Claims Siya Voluntarily Authorised Him

Responding to the controversy, Srivastava said his legal team approached Siya directly after she sought legal assistance.

According to him, Siya voluntarily signed the vakalatnama authorising his team to represent her. He also said she is an adult and capable of making her own legal decisions.

Srivastava further claimed that his team dealt directly with Siya and never communicated with Sahil regarding her legal representation.

Meanwhile, police have continued to seek custodial interrogation of Siya Goyal and co-accused Chaudhary, saying further investigation is required.

The prosecution told the court that investigators have found the duo had earlier visited Lohagad Fort to identify the spot from where Ketan Agarwal was allegedly pushed to his death.

Police also said they are working to recover deleted digital evidence, verify the reconstructed sequence of events, identify people who interacted with the accused at the fort through CCTV footage and recover Agarwal's missing passport, which investigators allege was discarded by Siya during a trip.

Investigators have also sought custody to confront the accused with newly identified witnesses.

Murder Case

Police allege that 20-year-old Siya Goyal conspired with her 22-year-old boyfriend Chaudhary to kill Ketan Agarwal because she did not want to marry him and believed calling off the wedding would bring disrepute to her family.

Both have been arrested on charges of conspiring to murder the Pune-based realtor by allegedly pushing him off a cliff at Lohagad Fort in Pune district.

The investigation is ongoing.