On June 18, 26-year-old Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal died after falling into a gorge at Lohagad Fort, Maharashtra, with the incident initially treated as an accident. Police later alleged that his fiancée, Siya Goyal, and her alleged lover, Chetan Chaudhary, had conspired to murder him by pushing him off the cliff after rehearsing the plan several times. Both were arrested, and the investigation is ongoing.
In the above context, a video showing a massive crowd of tourists thronging a hill fort has gone viral on social media, with users claiming it depicts a surge in visitors to Pune’s Lohagad Fort following the high-profile Ketan Agarwal murder case.
The footage is being shared with the suggestion that the overwhelming crowds are driven by curiosity to see the alleged crime scene, which is being informally dubbed as ‘Siya point.’
Social media users are circulating a video purportedly showing a massive crowd thronging Lohagad Fort after the recent Ketan Agarwal murder case came to light, implying that the surge in visitors is owing to curiosity over the alleged crime scene. The text embedded in the video reads, “Visitors Rush To ‘Siya Point’ After Ketan Murder Case.”
SouthCheck found that the claim is misleading. The viral video is from 2023 and unrelated to the Ketan Agarwal murder case.
A Google reverse image search of the viral clip led to an X (formerly Twitter) post by Pune City Life, dated July 2, 2023, carrying the same video, confirming that it predates the Ketan Agarwal murder case.
A report by Marathi news outlet Sakal, published on July 3, 2023, featured the same video and reported heavy overcrowding at Lohagad Fort, with visitors reportedly stranded at the main gate for nearly four hours.
A report by Marathi news outlet Sakal, published on July 3, 2023, featured the same video and reported heavy overcrowding at Lohagad Fort, with visitors reportedly stranded at the main gate for nearly four hours.
Another post by Saam TV on Instagram, published in July 2023, also carried the identical video, further confirming that it is unrelated to the recent case. The caption associated with the video read, “There was a huge crowd of tourists yesterday on Sunday at the Lohgad fort, which is about 70 kilometres away from Pune city. The video of the incident has gone viral on social media after reporting that people were stranded in the Mahadarwaja of the fort.”
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral video is misleading.
