‘Simply asking for justice’: Ketan Agarwal’s mother writes to PM Modi

4 min readPuneJul 15, 2026 01:07 PM IST

Siya Goyal, Ketan’s fiancée, and her alleged boyfriend Chetan Chaudhary were arrested on June 23 after Pune Rural police charged them with plotting his death by pushing him off Lohagad Fort on June 18.(Express Photo enhanced using AI/Special Arrangement)

The mother of Ketan Agarwal, whose death at Pune’s Lohagad Fort was initially believed to be an accidental fall but was later termed a planned murder by the police, has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking justice for her son.

In her emotional appeal, Rakhi Agarwal urged the Prime Minister to ensure that Ketan’s death does not become “just another case file” and sought the strictest punishment under the law for those responsible.

Siya Goyal, Ketan’s fiancée, and her alleged boyfriend, Chetan Chaudhary, were arrested on June 23 after the Pune Rural police probe revealed that the two had allegedly hatched a carefully planned conspiracy to kill Ketan by pushing him from the cliff of Lohagad fort on June 18.

“I never imagined that I would have to write to you seeking justice for my own son. Like every mother, I dreamt of seeing Ketan build a beautiful life, get married, and grow old with us. Instead, I had to perform the last rites of my child. There is no greater pain in the world for a mother than this. My son was brutally murdered, and with him, my entire world came to an end,” Rakhi Agarwal wrote in an email sent to PM Modi two days ago.

‘He was my entire world’

In a mix of English and Hindi, Rakhi also talked about “another heartbreaking loss”.

“Every corner of our home reminds me of him. His room, his clothes, his photographs, and the silence that has replaced his laughter remind me every day that he will never come back. Our family suffered another heartbreaking loss when my father-in-law passed away just 20 days after Ketan’s death. He loved Ketan dearly and could not bear the grief of losing his grandson. Within a matter of days, our family lost two generations,” Rakhi wrote.

“Modi Ji, I am only a mother. I am not asking for sympathy or any special favour. I am simply asking for justice. Every day without justice deepens our pain. Ketan cannot return, but those responsible for taking his life must receive the strictest punishment under the law. All I want is for my son to get justice,” she wrote.

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“With folded hands, I humbly request you to kindly ensure that my son’s case receives the attention it deserves and that justice is delivered without unnecessary delay. Please do not let Ketan become just another case file. He was someone’s son, someone’s grandson, someone’s brother, but to me, he was my entire world,” she added.

“Every night I look at his photograph and say, ‘Son, your mother is still fighting for you.’ I pray that one day I will be able to tell him, ‘Son… you have finally received justice. I sincerely hope you will hear the voice of a grieving mother’.”

Siya got engaged to Ketan on February 19, and the two were scheduled to marry later in the year. Siya had been in a relationship with Chetan since October last year and did not want to marry Ketan, the police have said.

After spending 10 days in police custody, Siya and Chetan were remanded to 14 days of judicial custody by a court and are currently lodged in prison.