On August 16, 2003, just two weeks after her youngest daughter’s wedding, Dr. Asha Goel arrived in Mumbai with her son, Sanjay Goel, to visit her ailing elder brother Suresh.  Her visit was to be able to spend some time with him while he was still able to “have a laugh and enjoy a meal”.  She also hoped to mediate the ongoing property dispute among her brothers, in an attempt to ensure that her brother Shekhar received his due share.  She counseled Suresh to resolve the dispute while he still could, before his health further deteriorated.   Unfortunately, he would not agree, and her efforts were unsuccessful.  The next day, she left his home in tears and went to stay with her sister Aruna. 

On August 22, at Suresh’s behest, Asha returned to her brother’s home for her last night in Mumbai.  The following morning, she was found lying in a pool of blood with 21 injuries on her body, including a massive head injury, broken jaw, ruptured liver, and multiple stab wounds.

Following months of investigation, and the case being transferred from Malabar Hill Police to DCB CID, the police arrested several individuals, including:  

• Pawan Kumar Goenka
• Manohar Shinde 
• Pradeep Parab
• Narendra Goel (Suresh Agrawal's son-in-law)

The prosecution alleged that Subhash and Suresh Agrawal conspired to murder their sister to gain sole control over the family property.  Suresh however, died only three months after the murder, and Subhash was absconding in Canada and named as a wanted accused.

Three of the arrested individuals, Goenka, Shinde and Parab, are Subhash’s employees and the fourth, Narendra Goel, is Suresh’s son-in-law.  The arrested individuals are accused of executing the plan.

Faced with the evidence, Pradeep Parab confessed to his involvement in the crime and became an approver, ie. turned state’s witness.

While the four were arrested in 2005, they were all granted bail when police failed to file the chargesheet within 90 days.

The case experienced significant delays over the years due to various legal challenges and procedural issues:

• 2005-2018: Despite the arrests, the trial faced numerous postponements.  For instance, defendants objected to police use of international resources and the assistance of the Canadian forensic labs.  They filed a motion to try to prevent the recovered materials from being tested abroad and used as evidence.  The Supreme Court of India ultimately ruled in 2009 that the police were well within their authority to have the evidence analyzed in Canada, but this objection by the defense delayed proceedings by more than two years.  Similarly, Narendra Goel, Suresh’s son-in-law and the wealthiest of the accuseds, obtained a sessions court order discharging him in February 2017.  It was several years until that order was reversed by the Bombay High Court, citing fundamental errors in the sessions court reasoning. 
• In 2019, Mr. Raja Thakare, who had been the Special Public Prosecutor in the case since 2005, was elevated to Senior Advocate status and unable to continue as prosecutor.
• 2022: The Maharashtra State Government appointed Ujjwal Nikam, a renowned criminal law specialist, as the Special Public Prosecutor to lead the case.  The trial was scheduled to commence on August 24, 2022, however it did not proceed. 
• September 2022: A Bombay High Court order called for the trial to be expedited (the third such order) and for the trial judge to guard against the defense’s obvious efforts to delay the trial.  The Goel family believed that the High Court had finally paved the way for the trial to proceed.  Unfortunately, to date Mr. Nikam has only examined two witnesses.

As of March 2025, the trial has officially commenced, but the case continues to face challenges due to its prolonged duration, the passing of key witnesses, and procedural delays.

The family remains committed to seeking justice for Dr. Asha Goel.