Pune, Jul 4: Praveen Goyal, father of Siya Goyal -- the prime accused in the alleged murder of Ketan Agarwal --on Saturday sought to explain his daughter's purported obscene gesture to the media, claiming she had injured her fingers during a visit to their residence as part of legal formalities and was merely showing the injury.

On Thursday, a video shared by IANS showed Siya being taken out of her residence in Pune's Market Yard area by the police as part of the ongoing probe.

Dressed in a black T-shirt with a printed scarf covering her face, Siya briefly looked at the reporters gathered outside before raising her middle finger at the cameras.

In a self-made video, Praveen Goyal said: "Siya is being accused of showing the middle finger (to the media); it is nothing of that sort. When she had come home with the police for legal formalities, two of her fingers got smashed in a car door, which is why there is a bandage on one of her fingers while the other one is swollen. Even her nails have turned blue; we have seen that."

The father's clarification came after the video quickly went viral, drawing sharp reactions from users online.

Many criticised her conduct, with several describing the gesture as insensitive and inappropriate in view of the serious charges she faces.

Referring to the accusations being made against his daughter on social media, Siya's father said: "This is not right. Still, if people think (that she has done something wrong), they can cross-check with the police since they were accompanying her at that time and are aware of the incident."

Showing a picture of Siya's swollen finger on his mobile phone, Praveen Goyal said: "You can see her finger is swollen and her nails have turned blue."

"Whatever is being said on social media is not right," he reiterated.

Also Read: Siya Goyal’s Disturbing Message to Friend under Police Lens in Ketan Agarwal Murder Case

According to the police, Siya Goyal and her alleged lover, Chetan Chaudhary, conspired to murder businessman Ketan Agarwal by pushing him into a gorge at Lohagad Fort near Pune on June 18.

Initially, Siya reportedly told investigators that Ketan had accidentally slipped and fallen, leading the police to register an accidental death case.

However, investigators later became suspicious after allegedly noticing inconsistencies in her statements and behaviour during questioning.

The probe subsequently uncovered evidence that led to the arrest of both Siya and Chetan on charges of murder and criminal conspiracy.

(IANS)