Pune, Jun 30: A fresh legal dispute has emerged in the high-profile murder case of Pune-based realtor Ketan Agarwal, with advocate Aashutosh Srivastava serving a Rs 10 crore defamation notice on Sahil Goyal, the brother of prime accused Siya Goyal, over allegations questioning his authority to represent her.

The notice follows Sahil Goyal's statements in the media, in which he denied that the family had engaged Srivastava as Siya's lawyer. Sahil also alleged that the advocate may have obtained Siya's signatures on legal documents through deception.

Advocate Demands Rs 10 Crore
Calling the allegations "false, baseless, defamatory and misleading," Srivastava claimed they had severely damaged his professional reputation.

In the legal notice, he demanded Rs 10 crore in damages, sought a public apology from Sahil Goyal and asked for a written assurance that no similar statements would be made in the future.

Srivastava maintained that his legal team had approached Siya directly and that she had voluntarily signed a vakalatnama authorising them to represent her.

"Our team met Siya Goyal. She required legal assistance, so she signed the vakalatnama in our favour. Siya Goyal is an adult and is fully capable of making her own decisions. We never spoke to Sahil Goyal; we dealt directly with Siya. The vakalatnama bears her signatures and is valid up to the Bombay High Court," Srivastava said.

Representation Disputed in Court
The disagreement also surfaced during proceedings before the Vadgaon Maval court on Monday.

Srivastava appeared before the court claiming to represent Siya Goyal and submitted a vakalatnama purportedly bearing her signature. However, Siya told the court that advocate Vipul Dushing was representing her. Her family also reiterated that Dushing had been officially appointed as her legal counsel.

Before the hearing, Sahil Goyal had publicly asserted that Srivastava had neither been appointed nor authorised by the family. He also alleged that Srivastava had threatened family members.

The allegations contained in the defamation notice are Srivastava's claims. Sahil Goyal has not publicly responded to the notice.

Police Seek Further Custodial Interrogation
Meanwhile, investigators continued to seek custodial interrogation of Siya Goyal and her co-accused, Chaudhary, saying several aspects of the case remain under investigation.

Police told the court that the accused had allegedly visited Lohagad Fort before the incident to identify the location where Agarwal was later allegedly pushed to his death.

Investigators also said they are attempting to recover deleted digital evidence, verify the reconstructed sequence of events, identify witnesses through CCTV footage, recover Agarwal's missing passport, which they allege was discarded by Siya during a trip, and confront the accused with newly identified witnesses.

Also Read: Lohagad Fort Murder Case: Chetan to Undergo ‘Gait Analysis’

Murder Case Under Investigation
Police alleged that 20-year-old Siya Goyal conspired with her 22-year-old boyfriend, Chaudhary, to kill Agarwal because she did not want to marry him and believed calling off the wedding would bring disrepute to her family.

Both have been arrested on charges of conspiracy to murder after Agarwal allegedly was pushed off a cliff at Lohagad Fort in Pune district.

The allegations against the accused remain under investigation, and the matter is pending before the court.