Pune murder investigation: Siya Goyal's 'lawyer' sues her brother for Rs100 million

The murder investigation is still unfolding. But another battle has already begun — this one in the courtroom.

A lawyer who says he represents Siya Goyal, the woman accused of plotting the killing of Pune businessman Ketan Agarwal, has served a Rs100 million defamation notice on her own brother after he publicly questioned the lawyer's authority to appear for her.

The notice, issued by advocate Ashutosh Srivastava, follows comments by Sahil Goyal, who told reporters that neither he nor other family members had appointed Srivastava to represent his sister. According to Sahil, the family does not recognise him as part of her legal team.

Srivastava sees it differently.

He maintains that he is acting on Siya Goyal's behalf and argues that Sahil's statements have harmed his professional reputation, prompting the defamation claim.

The disagreement comes as police continue investigating one of Maharashtra's most closely watched murder cases.

Investigators allege that Ketan Agarwal, 26, was pushed from a cliff at Lohagad Fort on June 18. According to police, the killing was not spontaneous. They claim it followed months of planning by Siya Goyal and her alleged partner, Chetan Chaudhary, after several earlier attempts to kill Agarwal failed. Both have been arrested and charged with murder. The allegations have not been tested in court.

As the investigation has progressed, police have disclosed more of what they say they uncovered. They allege the pair exchanged thousands of phone calls, visited the fort repeatedly before the incident and searched online for ways to carry out the killing. Investigators also claim the visits were used to study the terrain before the alleged attack.

Whether those allegations stand up in court will be decided during trial.