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In the case of Ketan Agarwal, who was reportedly shoved to his death at Lohagad Fort by his fiancée and her lover, a fast-track trial has been ordered.
Nikam Ujjwal
Senior attorney Ujjwal Nikam has consented to serve as special public prosecutor in the case involving the suspected murder of 25-year-old Ketan Agarwal, who passed away earlier this month after falling from a cliff close to Lohagad Fort in the Pune region of Maharashtra.
This comes after the victim's father, Vishal Agarwal, met with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday in Pune.
An official statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) claims that Fadnavis gave the family the assurance that the State will make sure those accountable for Agarwal's death received severe punishment.
He granted their request to appoint Nikam as a special public prosecutor.
The attorney informed Bar and Bench that Nikam had expressed his consent.
Additionally, the Law and Judiciary Department has been instructed by the Chief Minister to start the required procedure. Additionally, Fadnavis consented to the family's request that the case be heard in a fast-track court.
Before becoming the State's go-to attorney in crucial criminal cases, Nikam started out as a district prosecutor in Jalgaon. The trial of the 1993 Bombay serial explosions was his first significant national case. He then dealt with the murders of BJP leader Pramod Mahajan and T-Series founder Gulshan Kumar.
But he became well-known for his work as special public prosecutor in the trial of Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving suspect in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
The 2010 German Bakery explosion in Pune, the Shakti Mills gang rape, the Kopardi rape and murder case, and the Khairlanji Dalit slaughter are some of the other well-known incidents in his career.
In appreciation of his achievements to justice and the law, President Droupadi Murmu nominated him to the Rajya Sabha in July 2025.
Nikam briefly entered politics in 2024, running on a BJP ticket from Mumbai North Central in the Lok Sabha elections. In a number of cases that he had recused himself from during the election period, he was later reappointed as special public prosecutor.
The death of Ketan Agarwal near Lohagad Fort, near Lonavla, is the subject of his most recent case. According to police, Agarwal passed away on June 18 after falling into a ravine that was 350 feet deep while hiking to the fort with his fiancée, Siya Goyal, and other companions. Initially reported as an accidental death, the case was subsequently changed to a murder case.
Police said that Goyal (20) and her companion Chetan Chaudhary (22) had slain Agarwal five days after the incident.
Investigators claim that Goyal, who was set to wed Agarwal later this year, plotted to kill him with Chaudhary because he did not want the marriage to proceed.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita's sections on murder and criminal conspiracy have been invoked by the police.
Following their arrest on June 23, Goyal and Chaudhary appeared before the Wadgaon Maval judicial magistrate, who placed them under seven days of police custody. They will be detained until June 29.
Advocate Aashuutosh Srivastava, a graduate of Pune University and the Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIBM), Pune, is representing Goyal.
He is a member of the Supreme Court Bar Association in New Delhi and established his own legal practice, A A Associates, Advocates & Legal Advisors, in Pune in 2006.
Advocate Ram Shahane is representing Chaudhary.
