Police investigating the Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal murder case will conduct a "gait analysis" of accused Chetan Chaudhary and are also planning to compare the CCTV footage capturing his movements at the Lohagad Fort with a recreated video, a court was informed on Monday.
Police also highlighted the need for probing various aspects like the exact spot of the crime on the fort and a missing passport of the victim while seeking the extension of the custody of Chaudhary and his lover, Siya Goyal, the fiancée of Agarwal. The court extended their police custody till July 3.
Goyal (20) and Chaudhary (22) were arrested for allegedly conspiring to kill Agarwal (25) and pushing him off a cliff at the Lohagad Fort in Pune district on June 18.
A police official said Gait analysis is the study of a person's walking pattern, and it is used to identify suspects from CCTV footage by comparing distinctive characteristics such as stride length, posture, and limb movements.
In the Agarwal murder case, the Pune rural police are planning to compare the CCTV footage showing Chaudhary's movements at the fort with a recreated video, he said.
According to the police, the analysis became necessary as Chaudhary, in order to conceal his identity, wore a hoodie to cover his face on the day of the crime on June 18.
He said police will recreate the CCTV camera footage by making him wear a similar hoodie and walk at the same spot on the fort in a similar manner.
"We are planning to conduct a gait analysis of Chaudhary. We have CCTV footage showing him walking while wearing a hoodie to hide his face. The gait analysis will compare his locomotion in the CCTV footage with the recreated video to determine whether the walking patterns match," he added.
Earlier in the day, Chaudhary and Goyal were produced before the court of A M Vibhute in Vadgaon Maval after their initial police custody ended.
The prosecution told the court that the probe has shown that the duo had visited the fort to determine the spot to push Agarwal off the cliff.
"Police want to question both the accused on this aspect, and hence the extension of custody is needed," said assistant public prosecutor Rajashri Virkud.
She told the court that the accused repeatedly met at various locations to hatch the murder conspiracy, and police want to investigate in detail.
"The accused deleted digital data that constitutes crucial evidence; the process of recovering this data is currently underway. Once retrieved, this data will serve as the basis for a thorough interrogation of the accused," the court was told.
A reconstruction of the sequence of events, based on Goyal's statement, was conducted on June 28. The sequence of events must now be verified with Chaudhary, the prosecution said.
"During the incident, both the accused interacted with certain individuals at Lohagad Fort. Based on CCTV footage obtained, a thorough investigation regarding the crime needs to be conducted with the accused in the context of these interactions," the prosecution added.
The prosecution told the judge that Goyal didn't want to travel to Bali with Agarwal for a pre-wedding shoot. She allegedly removed his passport from his bag and discarded it somewhere at Khalapur food mall in Raigad district during their journey from Pune to Mumbai.
"Therefore, the deceased's passport needs to be located and recovered with the assistance of Goyal," the prosecution said.
It further stated that certain important witnesses have recently come forward during the investigation, and they will be confronted with the accused, and their statements will be verified.
Advocate Vipul Dushing, a lawyer representing Goyal, argued before the court that her arrest was illegal and without any valid grounds.
Chaudhary's lawyer, Ram Shahane, said his client's role in the FIR is very limited and undefined.
Meanwhile, a drama unfolded on the court premises when an advocate, who identified himself as Aashutosh Shrivastav, claimed he will be representing Goyal.
He presented his vakalatnama with a purported signature of Goyal before the court. However, Goyal and her family informed the court that Vipul Dushing is representing her.
Earlier on Sunday, police took Goyal to the fort to reconstruct the crime scene using a human-sized dummy.
According to the police, Goyal sat down to signal Chaudhary to push Agarwal off the cliff.
Chaudhary had also done his homework by travelling to the historical site on a scooter, avoiding a car because he feared it could be detected at a toll plaza, they said on Sunday.
"He climbed the fort wearing a hoodie. Later, he removed it and remained in a black T-shirt. While leaving, he put on the hoodie again," the official said, adding that investigators believe it was done to avoid attracting attention.
After allegedly committing the crime, Chaudhary returned to Pune on the same scooter, the official had said.
Police, last week, questioned Goyal's parents and brother at length and recorded their statements.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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