Sonali Phogat death case: Alleged drug suppliers granted bail

The NDPS court granted both persons bail on furnishing a bail bond of ₹30,000 each and two sureties of ₹15,000 each in its order that was pronounced on Monday

The local NDPS (Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) court on Monday granted bail to Ramadas Mandrekar and Dattaprasad Gaonkar who are accused of procuring and supplying the methamphetamine (MDMA) that was administered to BJP leader Sonali Phogat the night she died.

CBI team visited the Goa hotel on Saturday where Sonali Phogat had stayed. (File image)

The NDPS court granted both Gaonkar and Mandrekar bail on furnishing a bail bond of ₹30,000 each and two sureties of ₹15,000 each in its order that was pronounced on Monday.

The duo were arrested by the Goa police along with Edwin Nunes -- the owner of Curlies’ restaurant for their alleged role in the drug supply chain. Nunes was granted bail earlier on September 7.

Gaonkar, who worked as a bellboy at the Grand Leoney Resort where Phogat, Sangwan and Singh had checked in upon their arrival in Goa while Mandrekar was his supplier who allegedly procured the MDMA.

Gaonkar and Nunes were arrested on August 27 while Mandrekar was picked up a day later by the Goa police as they expanded their probe to include the narcotics angle.

On Sunday, a team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that has taken over the probe into the death of Phogat visited the now shuttered Curlies’ beach shack and nightclub where Phogat was last seen partying the night she died.

The team which has been camping in Goa for three days now, arrived at the south Anjuna beach and visited the shack, more than two thirds of which is now demolished following orders from the National Green Tribunal, for being in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification.

On Saturday, the team spent over 10 hours at the Grand Leoney Resort, where Sonali Phogat and the two persons accused of murdering her -- her manager Sudhir Sangwan and his associate Sukhwinder Singh -- were staying and seized some material from the two rooms -- one in which Sonali Phogat was staying and the other in which Sangwan and Singh were said to be staying in.

The four-member team of CBI arrived in Goa on Friday and formally took over the case from the Goa police.