The investigation into the alleged murder of Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal has taken another dramatic turn, with a legal battle now unfolding over the representation of the prime accused, Siya Goyal.

Advocate Aashutosh Srivastava has issued a legal notice seeking ₹10 crore in damages from Sahil Goyal, Siya's brother, accusing him of making defamatory remarks that allegedly tarnished his professional standing.

The dispute stems from statements made by Sahil Goyal during a television interview, where he claimed that neither he nor his family had engaged Srivastava as Siya's legal counsel. Sahil further alleged that the advocate may have obtained Siya's signatures on legal documents through misleading means.

Calling these allegations false and malicious, Srivastava has demanded financial compensation, a public apology, and a written undertaking from Sahil that similar accusations will not be repeated.

The disagreement also surfaced in court during proceedings before the Vadgaon Maval court. Srivastava appeared claiming to represent Siya Goyal and submitted a vakalatnama bearing what he said was her signature. However, Siya informed the court that advocate Vipul Dushing was representing her. Her family also reaffirmed that Dushing was the lawyer officially chosen to handle her defence.

Before the hearing, Sahil had maintained that Srivastava had never been authorised by the family. He asserted that the family had already appointed advocate Vipul Dushing and had filed an affidavit confirming the appointment. Sahil also accused Srivastava of attempting to pressure the family and suggested that the vakalatnama may not have been obtained legitimately.

Rejecting these allegations, Srivastava said his legal team had approached Siya directly and that she voluntarily agreed to appoint them. According to him, since Siya is an adult, she has the legal right to choose her own counsel without requiring approval from her family.

He further claimed that the vakalatnama was executed willingly by Siya and remains valid for proceedings up to the Bombay High Court. Srivastava also clarified that his team had no discussions with Sahil, insisting that all communication took place directly with the accused.

As of now, Sahil Goyal has not publicly responded to the defamation notice.

Meanwhile, the murder investigation continues to gather pace. Prosecutors have sought further custodial interrogation of Siya Goyal and her alleged boyfriend, Chetan Chaudhary, stating that investigators are pursuing several crucial leads.

According to police, the accused had allegedly visited Lohagad Fort before the incident to identify the location where Ketan Agarwal was later pushed into a gorge. Investigators are also working to recover deleted digital conversations, reconstruct the sequence of events using electronic evidence, identify additional witnesses through CCTV footage, and trace Ketan's missing passport, which police suspect was discarded by Siya during an earlier trip.

Police allege that Siya and Chetan conspired to kill Ketan because she wanted to avoid marrying him but feared social consequences if the engagement was called off. Both accused remain in custody while the investigation into the alleged conspiracy continues.