Ketan Agarwal murder case: Siya Goyal's 'lawyer' issues Rs 10 crore notice to her brother

As the probe into the Ketan Agarwal murder case is yet to reach its logical conclusion, a fresh dispute has come to the surface over who is legally authorised to represent Siya Goyal, one of the accused in the case.

Row over legal counsel

Following the allegation by Siya Goyal’s brother Sahil, that advocate Aashutosh Srivastava was not hired by his family, Srivastava has claimed Rs 10 crore in damages from him, accusing him of making defamatory allegations against him, which damaged his professional reputation.

Also Read: Ketan Agarwal murder: Siya’s signal to 'lover' also meant to ensure her safety, say cops

According to an India Today report, the development comes after Sahil made the claims in an interview with the media outlet, alleging that Srivastava may have resorted to deception to get Siya to sign some legal papers.

Lawyer defends role

Sirvastava stated that his team had earlier met Siya, and she gave her approval to them for representing her.

“We have heard a statement where he is lying and trying to mislead people. As far as the accused Siya Goyal is concerned, she has signed and authorized all the documents, and that document has also been filed in the court,” he said as quoted by the Bar and Bench.

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“His irresponsible statement is defamatory and wrong. It is a wrong attack on the legal fraternity. As far as Siya Goyal is concerned, she is a major. She has every right to appoint a lawyer,” added Srivastava.

Court hears dispute

The disagreement over Siya’s legal representation also surfaced before the Vadgaon Maval court on Monday after Srivastava appeared, claiming to represent her and filed a vakalatnama said to bear her signature.

Also Read: Ketan Agarwal murder: Siya Goyal taken to Lohagad Fort for crime scene reconstruction

During the proceedings, however, Siya informed the court that advocate Vipul Dushing was representing her. Her family also reaffirmed that Dushing had been formally appointed as her counsel.

The assertions made in the legal notice reflect Srivastava’s version of events. Sahil Goyal has so far not issued any public response to the notice.

Probe widens

Meanwhile, the police continued to seek custodial interrogation of Siya and Chaudhary, informing the court that the investigation had found the two had previously visited Lohagad Fort to identify the location from where Ketan Agarwal was allegedly pushed to his death.

Also Read: Ketan Agarwal murder: Siya gave signal, her lover pushed fiancé into gorge, say cops

The prosecution further told the court that investigators are attempting to retrieve deleted digital evidence, verify the reconstructed sequence of events with Chaudhary, identify individuals who came in contact with the accused at the fort through CCTV footage, recover Agarwal’s missing passport, which police allege Siya discarded during a trip, and confront both accused with newly identified witnesses.

The backdrop

According to the police, 20-year-old Siya conspired with her 22-year-old boyfriend, Chetan Chaudhary, to murder Agarwal as she did not wish to marry him and believed that cancelling the wedding would bring disrepute to her family.

The two have been arrested for allegedly conspiring to kill the realtor by pushing him off a cliff at Lohagad Fort in Pune district.