“While in the police station, Chetan told us that he was standing a few feet away from the couple. I don’t feel my son is involved in this case,” Babulal said.

He alleged that Siya is using Chetan to protect herself. “Siya, to defend herself, is putting allegations on Chetan that he pushed Ketan Agarwal,” he said. Babulal added that the nature of Chetan and Siya’s relationship only came to light after the incident.

Babulal also expressed concern over how Chetan was treated during the investigation. “Chetan was crying and told us he was threatened inside the police station. I believe he is being targeted by Siya,” he said. He further noted that even after the incident on June 18, Chetan continued to visit their shop and work at Gultekdi Market Yard.

What Chetan’s lawyer said

Speaking to The Indian Express, Advocate Ram Shahane said, “As per the police’s first remand for inquiry, the honourable court accepted the prayer and a seven-day custody was given to my client. Goyal and Chaudhary are family friends and have known each other through their business.”

“The calls made between Chetan and Siya were as friends and were related to business. Even the police mentioning about the 2,000 calls between the accused have no specific chronology, and no evidence has been put before the honourable court so far. We don’t know the call number mentioned for what time period. And if there’s no progress in the investigation, we are going to plead for magisterial custody remand (MCR) for both the accused,” added Shahane.

A cricket player

Chetan’s uncle, Udayram Chaudhary said the allegations were hard to reconcile with the young man he knew. “I don’t think he would do such an act. He was a sportsperson and had over 150 trophies at home,” Udayram said.

When pointed to the fact that Chetan was present at the exact location as the couple at Lohagad Fort, Udayram said the family had no prior knowledge of the visit. “He never told us he was going to Lohagad. And the hoodie he was seen wearing – we had never seen such clothes at our home,” he said, adding that Chetan showed no unusual behaviour in the days leading up to the incident. “Even in the last couple of days before the tragic incident, we saw no indications of anything from Chetan at home,” Udayram said.

On the question of his relationship with Siya, the family said they knew the two were friends, but were unaware of a romantic involvement. “We knew Siya and Chetan were friends, but had no idea they were in a relationship,” Udayram added.