The legal battle in the Ketan Agarwal murder case has taken a turn as confusion grows over who is representing prime accused Siya Goyal.
A day after advocate Aashutosh Srivastava publicly defended Siya Goyal and questioned the evidence of her alleged confession during police custody, another lawyer claimed to be her legal representative.
Siya Goyal's brother has also denied ever hiring Srivastava.
“We have never hired him (Advocate Aashutosh Srivastava), and he is not someone that we have hired from our family. I know nothing about what he is claiming,” Sahil Goyal told news agency ANI.
Who is Siya Goyal's lawyer?
Advocate Vipul Dushing told reporters on Monday that he, along with his team, would be representing Siya Goyal in the case.
{{/usCountry}}Advocate Vipul Dushing told reporters on Monday that he, along with his team, would be representing Siya Goyal in the case.
{{/usCountry}}"We are representing Siya in this case. As of now, there are no specific expectations; the case is still in its very initial stage. We will present our arguments before the court and strive to secure at least a police custody remand for her," Dushing told ANI.
Amid the confusion, advocate Priyanka Baradkar, who identified herself as junior counsel to advocate Aashutosh Srivastava, arrived at the Lonavala Police Station ahead of Monday's court proceedings.
Speaking briefly to reporters, she declined to comment on the case, saying, "Today is the date of her hearing. Before the hearing, we cannot say anything."
Srivastava defended Siya's case
On Sunday, advocate Aashutosh Srivastava spoke to the media as Siya Goyal's counsel. He said that any confession made while an accused is in police custody cannot be treated as admissible evidence under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA).
READ ALSO | At Lohagad Fort, police piece together Ketan Agarwal murder sequence with Siya
He said the defence would challenge the prosecution on this point and also question why investigators shifted from initially treating Ketan Agarwal's death as an accident to pursuing it as a murder case.
Srivastava also said that Goyal cooperated with the investigation and said that the prosecution already received sufficient police custody to complete its interrogation.
According to him, the defence would seek judicial custody for Goyal instead of any further police remand.
Police recreates crime scene
The row over legal representation comes a day after Pune Rural Police took Siya Goyal to Lohagad Fort to recreate the events of the June 18 death of her fiance, Ketan Agarwal.
According to investigators, Goyal allegedly demonstrated how she signalled co-accused Chetan Chaudhary by sitting down, either pretending to drink water or tie her shoelaces, before Chaudhary allegedly pushed Agarwal off the cliff.
ALSO READ | Siya met Chetan through her brother: A cricket connection in Pune fort murder
Police claim the signal was to ensure Goyal stayed out of Agarwal's reach during the fatal push.
Investigators have also alleged that Chaudhary travelled nearly 90 kilometres to the fort on a scooter instead of a car to avoid toll plaza records. He reportedly also removed and later putting back on a hoodie to avoid bring recognised.
Police claimed the two visited the fort earlier to identify a suitable location for the crime and had even did a "practice" run. Officials say they are still verifying where the alleged rehearsal took place.