The issue came up before Judicial Magistrate First Class AM Vibhute, where lawyers representing the accused opposed the police plea seeking a polygraph examination.
A court on Friday sent Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary, the two accused in the alleged murder of realtor Ketan Agarwal, to 14 days of judicial custody after refusing the police request to conduct a polygraph test without their consent.
The duo had declined to undergo the lie detector examination, and the court observed that such a test cannot be carried out unless the accused voluntarily agrees to it. Following the hearing, both were shifted to Yerawada Central Prison.
Court Declines Police Request
The issue came up before Judicial Magistrate First Class AM Vibhute, where lawyers representing the accused opposed the police plea seeking a polygraph examination.
Taking note of their refusal, the court ruled that the test could not be carried out against their wishes.
Police Claim New Digital Evidence
During the hearing, the Lonavla Rural Police informed the court that deleted data had been recovered from the mobile phones of both accused.
Investigators claimed the recovered data included conversations in coded language, which they believe could point to the involvement of a third person in the alleged conspiracy.
Police also told the court that they had recovered a second mobile phone allegedly hidden by Siya. The device is expected to be sent for forensic examination.
Investigation Still In Progress
According to the police, the analysis of the recovered digital evidence is still underway. Investigators said decoding the alleged coded conversations could help establish whether someone else assisted Siya and Chetan in planning or carrying out the crime.
Assistant Police Inspector Manoj Pawar, the investigating officer, informed the court that police had verified the sequence of events narrated by Chetan and seized the trousers he was allegedly wearing during the incident.
Police also conducted a panchnama at the location where Siya allegedly disposed of her passport and seized the clothes she was allegedly wearing at the time of the crime. Another panchnama was carried out at the spot where the accused allegedly rehearsed the murder plan.
Defence Opposes Custody Plea
Assistant Public Prosecutor Rajshree Virkud argued that significant progress had been made during police custody and maintained that decoding the alleged coded conversations could reveal whether a third person was involved.
However, Siya’s counsel Vipul Dushing opposed any further police custody, arguing that both mobile phones had already been seized. He submitted that investigators should rely on their own expertise to interpret the recovered data rather than seek further custody of the accused.
Advocate Ram Shahane, appearing for Chetan Chaudhary, also opposed the police request, saying the demand for a face-to-face interrogation of the accused was vague.
