Raja Raghuvanshi To Ketan Agarwal: Murdered By Women

Raja Raghuvanshi and Ketan Agarwal cases expose a chilling pattern where men allegedly trusted marriage, but police say the women they trusted plotted their deaths with lovers.

NEW DELHI: If marriage was the problem, one refusal was enough. Why did two men allegedly have to die?

Raja Raghuvanshi went on honeymoon after marriage. Ketan Agarwal was preparing for marriage. In both cases, police allege that the women they trusted were linked to other men and became part of murder plots.

This is not just crime news. This is the uncomfortable men’s rights question India keeps avoiding: when men are killed in relationships, why is their victimhood still treated as secondary?

TWO MEN, TWO RELATIONSHIPS, ONE BRUTAL QUESTION

Raja Raghuvanshi was newly married.
Ketan Agarwal was engaged and preparing for marriage.

One was on honeymoon.
The other was close to his wedding.

Both believed they were walking into a future.
Police allege both were walking into a trap.

In the Raja Raghuvanshi case, the allegation is that his wife Sonam Raghuvanshi, along with her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha and others, conspired to kill him during a honeymoon trip in Meghalaya.

In the Ketan Agarwal case, the allegation is that his fiancée Siya Goyal and her alleged lover Chetan Chaudhary conspired to push him from Lohagad Fort near Pune.

Two different states.
Two different relationships.
Two different timelines.

But the pattern looks chillingly similar: a man trusted the woman linked to marriage, while police allege that the same woman was already attached to another man and wanted the husband or groom-to-be removed from the picture.

This is where society must stop pretending that men cannot be victims inside relationships.

KETAN AGARWAL CASE: IF SHE DID NOT WANT MARRIAGE, WHY NOT SAY NO?

Ketan Agarwal’s case is brutal because of one simple fact.

He was not forcing a marriage at gunpoint. His father has said that if Siya did not want to marry Ketan, the family would have cancelled the wedding.

That one line destroys every excuse.

If marriage was the problem, refusal was enough.
If love was elsewhere, honesty was enough.
If the relationship was unwanted, walking away was enough.

But according to police, Ketan was taken to Lohagad Fort and pushed into a gorge. The first story was accident. Then came suspicion. Then came technical evidence, CCTV, call records, witness material, and police investigation.

Indian Express reported that police said Siya and Ketan had gone to Lohagad Fort on June 18. Siya allegedly informed police that Ketan slipped while trying to click photographs and fell into a gorge. But investigation later revealed a murder conspiracy.

Police say Siya was in a relationship with Chetan Chaudhary and did not want to marry Ketan. According to the police version, Chetan was already present at Lohagad Fort, followed them, and then Siya and Chetan allegedly pushed Ketan off the cliff.

This is not heartbreak.
This is not confusion.
This is not “relationship complication.”

If the allegations are proved, this is planned elimination of a man who trusted the wrong person.

THE HOODIE, THE CALLS, THE PASSPORT AND THE FAILED ATTEMPTS

The most disturbing part of the Ketan case is not merely the final fall. It is the alleged planning before it.

Reports say CCTV footage showed a man in a hoodie following Ketan and Siya at the fort despite heat of around 33 degrees Celsius. Police allegedly found this suspicious and later identified the man as Chetan Chaudhary.

NDTV reported that Siya and Chetan exchanged 2,004 phone calls over seven months, adding up to nearly 238 hours. That is not casual contact. That is a pattern investigators are now examining as part of conspiracy.

There was also the Bali trip angle. Ketan and Siya were supposed to travel for a pre-wedding photoshoot. The trip got disrupted after Ketan’s passport went missing. Police have reportedly alleged that Siya hid the passport to avoid going on the trip.

There are also allegations of earlier failed attempts. One reported allegation is that Siya had earlier pushed Ketan at Lohagad Fort, but he survived after grabbing a bush. She allegedly covered it up by shouting about a snake.

If these facts stand in court, then Ketan’s death was not an accident born in one moment. It was allegedly a plan tested, delayed and executed.

A man was not just betrayed.
He was allegedly studied, moved, misled and eliminated.

RAJA RAGHUVANSHI CASE: HONEYMOON TURNED INTO MURDER TRIAL

Raja Raghuvanshi’s case shocked India because the alleged murder happened during honeymoon.

Raja had married Sonam Raghuvanshi in May 2025. The couple travelled to Meghalaya. Later, Raja went missing. His body was found in a gorge near Wei Sawdong Falls.

Police later alleged that Sonam Raghuvanshi and Raj Kushwaha planned to kill Raja during the honeymoon and make it appear like an accident. Reports say three hired men allegedly attacked Raja with machetes near the falls and his body was thrown into a gorge.

The Meghalaya Police SIT filed a 790-page chargesheet. The accused include Sonam Raghuvanshi, alleged lover Raj Kushwaha, and three alleged accomplices. A Meghalaya Sessions Court later framed charges under BNS provisions relating to murder, disappearance of evidence and criminal conspiracy. The accused denied the allegations.

This means Raja’s case is no longer merely a media story. It has entered the criminal trial stage.

The law will decide guilt.
But society must decide whether it will finally acknowledge male victimhood.

WHAT IS THE CHILLING PATTERN?

The pattern is not that “all women are like this.” That is nonsense and not the argument.

The pattern is this:

• The man is inside a marriage or marriage-like commitment.
• The woman is allegedly linked to another man.
• The husband or groom-to-be allegedly becomes an obstacle.
• The death is allegedly staged as accident, disappearance or fall.
• Public sympathy first flows towards the woman or the “relationship angle.”
• The dead man’s pain comes last.

This is why the men’s rights movement keeps saying one thing clearly: do not make gender the test of victimhood.

• A man can be trapped.
• A man can be used.
• A man can be emotionally manipulated.
• A man can be murdered.
• A man’s family can be destroyed.

And yes, the accused can be a woman.

Indian society is trained to believe that a woman in a relationship is always vulnerable and a man is always powerful. These cases expose the danger of that one-sided thinking.

IS WIFE OR FIANCÉE MURDERING MEN TO ESCAPE MARRIAGE BECOMING A NEW TREND?

Legally, one must be precise.

Two cases do not prove a national crime trend by themselves. Crime data, charge sheets, convictions and long-term study are required before declaring a statistical trend.

But socially, these cases expose a dangerous pattern that cannot be brushed aside.

When a woman does not want a marriage, Indian society gives her moral sympathy.
When a man does not want a marriage, he may face pressure, allegations, police involvement, maintenance threats and social shaming.

But what happens when the woman allegedly wants the marriage benefits, public image or family cover, while also wanting another man? That is the darker question these cases raise.

In both Raja and Ketan cases, the police allegation is not merely “affair.” The allegation is murder conspiracy.

Adultery is no longer a criminal offence in India after the Supreme Court’s Joseph Shine judgment. But murder is murder. Conspiracy is conspiracy. Destroying evidence is destroying evidence.

• A person can leave a marriage.
• A person can refuse marriage.
• A person can seek divorce.
• A person can walk out of a relationship.

But no person has the right to convert a man into a dead body because he became inconvenient.

INDIAN LAWS APPLICABLE IN SUCH CASES

LAW / SECTION	WHAT IT MEANS	WHY IT MATTERS
BNS Section 103(1)	Punishment for murder	If murder is proved, punishment may be death or imprisonment for life and fine.
BNS Section 61(2)	Criminal conspiracy	If two or more persons agree to commit a serious offence like murder, conspiracy can be separately punished.
BNS Section 238(a)	Causing disappearance of evidence or giving false information	Applies where evidence is allegedly destroyed or false information is given to screen an offender.
BNS Section 62	Attempt to commit offence	Relevant where earlier failed attempts to murder are investigated and proved.
BNSS Section 187	Police custody / remand when investigation cannot be completed in 24 hours	Explains why police seek custody for interrogation, recovery, reconstruction and evidence collection.
BSA Section 63	Electronic evidence	CCTV, call records, chats, digital evidence and device outputs must be proved according to electronic evidence rules.

The law is gender-neutral when it comes to murder. A man can be accused. A woman can be accused. A lover can be accused. A spouse can be accused.

The court does not convict on outrage. It convicts on evidence.

COURTROOM STATUS AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

In the Ketan Agarwal case, a Pune Magistrate Court sent Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary to police custody till June 29, 2026. Reports say the defence opposed police custody, but the court granted seven days’ custody.

This is important because police custody is not punishment. It is investigation. It is used for interrogation, recovery, confrontation with evidence, reconstruction and tracing the alleged conspiracy.

In the Raja Raghuvanshi case, a Meghalaya court framed charges against Sonam Raghuvanshi, Raj Kushwaha and three others under BNS Sections 103(1), 238(a) and 61(2). The accused denied the allegations.

That is how criminal law works.

• Allegation first.
• Investigation next.
• Chargesheet next.
• Charge framing next.
• Trial next.
• Conviction only after proof beyond reasonable doubt.

But public debate does not need to stay silent about the victim just because the trial is pending. We can respect due process and still ask why men’s pain is ignored.

SUPREME COURT CASE LAWS RELEVANT TO SUCH MURDER TRIALS

CASE LAW	PRINCIPLE	RELEVANCE
Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra	The Supreme Court laid down the five golden principles for conviction based on circumstantial evidence.	Cases involving CCTV, calls, conduct, last seen, recovery and motive often depend on a complete chain of circumstances.
Lalita Kumari v. Govt. of Uttar Pradesh	FIR registration is mandatory when information discloses a cognizable offence.	Murder is a cognizable offence. Police must act when facts disclose serious crime.
Joseph Shine v. Union of India	Adultery was decriminalised; Section 497 IPC was struck down.	An affair is not a criminal offence by itself, but murder or conspiracy connected with an affair remains a serious crime.
Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab	Death penalty is constitutional but reserved for the rarest of rare cases.	Even in brutal murder cases, sentencing depends on aggravating and mitigating circumstances after conviction.
Machhi Singh v. State of Punjab	The Supreme Court elaborated on rarest of rare principles.	Courts examine manner of crime, motive, brutality and impact before awarding death sentence.

This is why shouting “hang them” is not legal analysis. The court will decide. But demanding strict, fast and fair trial is absolutely justified.

THE MEN’S RIGHTS QUESTION INDIA IS AVOIDING

Every time a woman is harmed inside marriage, society immediately discusses patriarchy, domestic violence, dowry, safety and law.

But when a man is harmed, trapped, falsely accused, financially exploited, denied child access, socially humiliated or killed, the same society becomes cautious, silent or amused.

Why?

• Are men not human?
• Are fathers not sons of someone?
• Are husbands not citizens?
• Are grooms not entitled to safety?

Ketan’s father asked the question that should shake every family: if she did not want to marry, why did she not simply refuse?

That is the question.

Because in India, many men are taught to trust. They are taught to provide. They are taught to remain silent. They are taught to absorb pain. They are taught that a woman’s word will be believed and a man’s suffering will be doubted.

This silence is killing men emotionally, legally and, in cases like these allegations, physically.

WHAT MEN AND FAMILIES MUST LEARN

This is not about paranoia. This is about awareness.

• If a woman repeatedly delays marriage without clarity, investigate the reason respectfully.
• If there is sudden secrecy, unexplained calls, hidden relationships or pressure, do not ignore it.
• If a man is being isolated from family before marriage, take it seriously.
• If there are unexplained trips to risky places, do not blindly trust emotional pressure.
• If engagement is turning into manipulation, pause the wedding.
• If the relationship is not clean, no amount of palace booking, social status or family pressure will save the marriage.

Marriage is not a photo shoot.
Marriage is not a family event.
Marriage is not a business merger.

Marriage is a legal, emotional and financial risk. Men must stop entering it blindly.

FINAL WORD

Raja Raghuvanshi and Ketan Agarwal were not statistics.

• They were sons.
• They were men.
• They trusted.
• They planned futures.
• They died in circumstances where police now allege betrayal, conspiracy and murder.

The court will decide guilt. That is the rule of law.

But society must answer a different question today: why does it take a man’s dead body for people to admit that men can also be victims?

If a woman does not want marriage, she has every right to refuse.
If a wife wants divorce, she has legal remedies.
If love is elsewhere, she can walk away.

But no woman, no lover, no family and no social system has the right to treat a man as disposable.

The law must punish the guilty after trial.
Society must stop laughing at male suffering before it becomes another funeral.

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