Sonali Phogat’s death: Autopsy mentions ‘blunt force injuries’ on body, murder case registered

The Goa Police on Thursday detained two associates of BJP leader Sonali Phogat, after a post-mortem report revealed that her body had “multiple blunt force injuries”

The Goa Police on Thursday detained two associates of BJP leader Sonali Phogat, after a post-mortem report revealed that her body had “multiple blunt force injuries”.

The post-mortem which was conducted at the Goa Medical College and Hospital on Thursday wasn’t conclusive concerning the cause of death, but has reported that she suffered “multiple blunt force injuries.” (ANI File Photo)

Earlier in the day, the police added Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code to the case related to the death of the 42-year-old leader, a senior police official told PTI here.

Police identified the accused as Sudhir Sangwan and Sukhwinder Wasi, who had accompanied Phogat when she arrived in Goa on August 22. Her brother Rinku Dhaka had filed a complaint against the two men at Anjuna Police Station on Wednesday. A panel of forensic experts from the Goa Medical College and Hospital conducted the autopsy on her body on Thursday morning after her family agreed to the procedure.

The post-mortem which was conducted at the Goa Medical College and Hospital on Thursday wasn’t conclusive concerning the cause of death, but has reported that she suffered “multiple blunt force injuries.”

“The cause of death to the best of my knowledge and belief is reserved pending chemical analysis, histopathology and serological reports of the tissues preserved. However, there are multiple blunt force injuries over the body. In view of the above, the manner of death is for the investigating officer to ascertain,” the report signed by doctors Shrikant Chimbilkar and Mandar Kantak, who conducted the post-mortem, said.

The case of murder was registered by the Anjuna police station under whose jurisdiction her death took place in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

Goa director general of police Jaspal Singh told HT that the police will be interrogating the two persons named in the complaint, Sudhir Sangwan and Sukhwinder Wasi, but no arrests have been made so far.

“We will interrogate them but no arrests have been made so far,” Singh said. Dhaka had alleged that his sister’s death was a pre-planned murder.

“I have done some inquiries on my own after arriving in the state on Tuesday evening. It is not a normal death. It is a pre-planned murder. I believe that it is Sudhir Sangwan (Phogat’s manager) and one Sukhwinder Singh. They have been planning this for many days. On the day the murder took place, she had spoken to her mother, her sister, me and others and from those conversations, we are very sure that she was in trouble and that anything could happen to her at any time. We had asked her to stay away from them and we will file a police complaint the next day. But she died at night,” Dhaka alleged. The police had initially registered a case of unnatural death and had sent the body for the post-mortem, which was to take place on Wednesday. However, peeved at the police delay in registering a murder case, the family refused to grant consent to carry forward the post-mortem leading to a delay. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Rinku Dhaka said while they have relented and allowed the post-mortem to go ahead, they were considering seeking a second opinion on the case either in Delhi or Mumbai.

By evening Dhaka and other family members received Phogat’s mortal remains after the completion of formalities which will be taken to Hisar in Haryana where she hails from.

Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant said he had given full freedom to the police to investigate the case. “I have told the DGP that he has full freedom to investigate the case. I had said (that it was a heart attack) based on the preliminary report. The DGP has the full freedom to treat the case as per the information that emerges,” Sawant said.

The BJP leader was brought to the St Anthony’s Hospital in Anjuna on Tuesday in an unconscious state on Tuesday morning but doctors declared that she had succumbed to a probable heart attack. Her body was later shifted to the morgue at the Goa Medical College and Hospital.

Meanwhile, Haryana education minister Kanwar Pal Gurjar, local bodies minister Kamal Gupta, Hisar mayor Gautam Sardana and former minister Sampat Singh were among othe leaders, who arrived at Phogat’s farmhouse at Dhandhoor village and paid condolences.

Ambala: Haryana home minister Anil Vij on Thursday said that a high-level inquiry should be conducted into her death.

“Whatever the truth is in this case, it will come out in the investigation. Moreover, her family has made many serious allegations and these should be investigated at a higher level. The Goa government should accept the family’s demand,” the minister told the reporters.

With inputs from HTC Ambala and Rohtak