Ketan Agarwal death case: What is gait analysis? | Explained

In late June 2026, the tragic death of 25-year-old Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal during a trek at Lohagad Fort near Lonavala sparked a major criminal investigation. Initially reported as an accident, the case quickly evolved into a murder probe following allegations against Ketan’s fiancée, Siya Goyal, and her supposed boyfriend, 22-year-old Chetan Chaudhary. The incident occurred during Siya’s birthday celebration, which had included a visit to the fort. At first, Siya told police that Ketan had slipped and fallen while taking photographs. However, the narrative shifted dramatically when authorities began suspecting foul play and arrested both Siya and Chetan on charges of plotting the killing.

Central to the ongoing investigation is the use of “gait analysis” to examine Chetan Chaudhary’s involvement. This forensic technique involves studying a person's walking pattern—such as stride length, posture, and limb movement—to identify individuals in surveillance footage. In this case, police are attempting to compare CCTV footage of Chetan wearing a hoodie on the day of the incident with a reconstructed version of his movements. They plan to recreate the footage by having Chetan wear a similar hoodie and walk through the same area at the fort in the same manner. This method aims to verify whether his walking pattern matches the one seen in the original footage, potentially confirming his presence at the scene.

The legal proceedings surrounding the case have also become complicated by disputes over representation. Siya Goyal, who faces accusations of orchestrating the murder due to her unwillingness to proceed with marriage, was accompanied to the fort to reconstruct the crime scene using a human-sized dummy. During a court hearing, her lawyer, Vipul Dushing, contested the legality of her arrest, arguing that there were no valid grounds for it. Meanwhile, Chetan’s lawyer, Ram Shahane, maintained that his client’s role in the initial police report was minimal and unclear.

A significant point of contention arose when another self-proclaimed lawyer, Aashutosh Srivastava, attempted to represent Siya. He presented a vakalatnama—a document granting legal representation—with a purported signature from Siya. However, Siya’s family denied authorizing Srivastava and alleged that he might have obtained her signature through deception. They also claimed that he issued threats against them. Siya’s brother, Sahil Goyal, confirmed these claims and stated that the family had filed an affidavit in court regarding the unauthorized representation. Additionally, Sahil revealed that plans for a trip to Bali with Ketan had been canceled due to the missing passport, which police now suspect was part of a broader scheme to facilitate the murder.

Investigations into the missing passport have intensified, with police asserting that Siya stole and destroyed it to prevent the couple’s planned trip to Bali for a pre-wedding photoshoot. This act, according to investigators, was not an isolated occurrence but rather a calculated move within a larger plot. The passport's absence forced the cancellation of the trip, and police are exploring whether this was linked to the subsequent events leading to Ketan’s death. Further complicating matters, the couple’s cab driver, Vaibhav Jadhav, recounted that Siya had asked him to stop on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and remove an unspecified item from her purse just before arriving at the airport. Despite extensive searches, the passport remained elusive.

Authorities have also focused on the digital activities of the accused, examining chat records and other electronic communications. It has been noted that both Siya and Chetan deleted messages from their devices around the time of the incident, possibly in an effort to erase evidence. As part of the investigation, police have questioned members of Siya’s family, including her parents and her brother Sahil, spending considerable time interrogating them about their knowledge and potential involvement.

With the case progressing, police continue to scrutinize the sequence of events leading up to Ketan’s death, focusing on the planning, execution, and aftermath of the alleged crime. The upcoming court sessions will likely address the validity of the arrests, the authenticity of the legal representation, and the findings from the ongoing investigations. As the probe unfolds, all parties involved remain under close watch, with the outcome of the case hanging in the balance.