Days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged murder of BJP leader Sonali Phogat, a team from the central probe agency reached Goa on Friday. After officially taking over the investigation from the Goa local police, the CBI on Thursday filed an FIR in connection with the case.
Last week, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had recommended a CBI probe and wrote to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). While recommending a CBI probe, Sawant had said that the reason behind the move was to honour the growing demand for a CBI enquiry and to comply with the wishes of the deceased’s son.
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Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had also promised a CBI probe into the matter. Phogat, who hailed from Haryana’s Hisar district, was brought dead to a hospital in Goa on August 22. After an initial report of a heart attack as the main cause of her death was released, Phogat’s family including her sisters claimed that the actor died under mysterious circumstances.
Phogat’s family maintained that she was perfectly fit and could not have died of cardiac arrest. One of Phogat’s sisters, Rupesh, said that on the evening of her death, Phogat had called and said that “something fishy” was going on. Phogat had abruptly disconnected the call and she couldn’t be reached on calling further, added her sister.
Soon after the claims by Phogat’s family, the Goa police arrested five people including drug peddlers, and her key associates. The police also arrested Edward Nunes, the owner of Curlies beach shack at Anjuna Beach, and drug peddler Dattaprasad Gaonkar under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. In the a CCTV footage released from Curlies, Phogat could be seen partying with her close aides Sukhwinder Singh and Sudhir Sangwan. While Nunes has been released on bail, both Singh and Sangwan are currently under judicial custody after being charged with murder.
Also Read: Sonali Phogat Death Case: Murder case registered, post-mortem report deepens mystery
In its probe, the Goa police stated that both Singh and Sangwan had mixed “obnoxious substances” in Phogat’s drink and forcibly made her drink. In the CCTV footage, Sangwan is seen taking an intoxicated Phogat to the Curlies washroom. Soon after that, Singh and Sangwan left Curlies for their hotel along with Phogat. Next morning when Phogat was brought to the hospital, she was declared dead.