Pune:
In a bid to demolish the defence’s argument that the person seen in the hoodie at Lohagad Fort near Pune around the time of Ketan Agarwal’s murder and Chetan Chaudhary are not the same person, the police are now planning to carry out a gait analysis.
Chetan and his alleged girlfriend, Siya Goyal, are accused of pushing Ketan from the fort on June 18 and then trying to pass off the murder as an accidental death.
When police began investigating the case, one of the biggest clues pointing to Siya and Chetan’s involvement in the death was CCTV footage of the boyfriend at the fort in a hoodie when the temperature was 33 degrees Celsius. Chetan, who also wore a headset over the hoodie, was allegedly following Siya and Ketan at a distance of just 20-30 feet.
During a hearing at the Vadgaon Court in Pune, however, Chaudhary’s lawyer claimed that the person seen in the footage was not his client.
Officials from the Pune rural police said they will be conducting a gait analysis to put any doubts to rest.
“To verify the evidence, Chaudhary will be taken to Lohagad Fort dressed in the exact clothing as the person seen in the CCTV footage. The body language of the person captured on the footage and that of Chetan Chaudhary will be closely compared. A forensic team will scientifically analyse walking speed, leg length, and physical structure to determine whether the suspect is indeed the same person,” said an official.
“In forensic and medical science, gait analysis refers to the scientific study of a person’s walking pattern. Just as every individual has unique fingerprints, every person has a distinctive way of walking. The following aspects are closely studied: Coordination of limb movements and the inclination of the upper body while walking; Walking speed and whether it is normal or indicative of nervousness or haste; Distance between consecutive steps; Impact of the individual’s height, weight, leg length and joint structure on their gait; And analysis of the angle and pressure of foot placement on the ground,” he explained.
After the CCTV footage was discovered, the police had said they had examined photographs and social media profiles linked to Chetan. A comparison of those images and the video, they said, had helped them zero in on him as a suspect.
READ | Siya Goyal’s Brother Knew About Chetan. Why He Chose To Stay Silent
According to the timeline established by the police, Ketan left home on the morning of June 18 and picked up Siya, 20, from Kiwale bridge on the Pune-Mumbai highway before heading to the fort. At 10.45 am, Siya called Ketan’s mother, claiming that he had accidentally fallen into a gorge at the fort.
The death was initially thought to be accidental but Ketan’s family became suspicious and filed a police complaint. A probe revealed that Siya and Chetan had been plotting the murder for a while. Siya had also allegedly tried to kill him the same way, at the same fort, four days earlier as well.
