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Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

ThePrint On Camera Videos In Pictures

Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

Arranged marriage, Gen Z and a hair patch—the twisted Ketan Agarwal murder case

I want to put myself in Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam’s shoes. Our man has been handpicked by the Maharashtra Chief Minister to lead the investigation in the sensational Lohagad murder case.

Pune badnaam hua, darrrling tere liye. The cliff hanger from the Lohagad Fort near Pune, involving the gruesome murder of Ketan Agarwal, a 26-year-old builder, his 20-year-old fiancée Siya Goel, and her shop-owner boyfriend, Chetan Choudhary, is keeping India on its toes. 

As of now, no other breaking news seems to matter – not even the story “they” want to underplay – the brazen Ayodhya Ram Mandir embezzlement case. Nobody cares. Instead, a grisly love triangle played out on the ramparts of a fort has become the number one national scandal. This must please Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi (undoubtedly refreshed and recharged after feeding tortoises in azure Seychelles). Meanwhile, some of the dirty details of exactly how temple donations were allegedly filched from what is frequently projected as India’s most important spiritual complex, are trickling in as police search houses of eight accused—eight days after their arrest.

But first. I want to put myself in Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam’s shoes. Fresh from enjoying the cinematic triumph of his biopic, Prahaar, in which Rajkummar Rao plays him, our man has been handpicked by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to lead the investigation in the sensational Lohagad murder case. Great to see our CM swing into action this swiftly to help a Pune builder solve his son’s murder case. Never mind other grisly killings across the state. 

Well. I am applying for a job as Nikam’s assistant. I am good at detective-giri, possess a logical mind, and given the chance, I’d love to grill the two sets of parents – after all, they are the ones responsible for creating the mess in the first place.

The murder and the plot

Everyone implicated in the investigation so far is busy denying everything (perhaps, Twisha Sharma’s mother-in-law Giribala Singh is advising them from inside her cell in Tihar). No charge sheet has been filed so far. And like in Twisha’s tragic death, here too, the cops have taken the accused (Siya and Chetan), to the scene of the crime, carrying  Ketan’s dummy for the macabre recreation of the murder.  

Siya, named by her pious folks after Goddess Sita, is playing it cool. Even........

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