Haryana BJP leader Sonali Phogat’s death case handed over to CBI

Actor-politician Phogat was declared dead at the St Anthony Hospital in North Goa on August 23 . The initial cause of death was a suspected heart attack but her family alleged foul play.

The Union home ministry on Monday handed over the probe into the death of Haryana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and social media influencer Sonali Phogat to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), people familiar with the development said.

Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant had said earlier in the day that the state government was handing over the probe to the CBI after consistent demands from Haryana and her family.

Actor-politician Phogat was declared dead at the St Anthony Hospital in North Goa on August 23 after a night out at a nightclub. The initial cause of death was a suspected heart attack but her family alleged foul play.

A murder case was filed by the Goa Police after the post-mortem report suggested “blunt force injury” on her body. The police had also said that Phogat was “forcibly drugged by her two associates”.

So far, five persons have been arrested in the case including her personal assistant Sudhir Sangwan and his associate Sukhwinder Singh. Besides, Edwin Nunes, owner of Curlies where Phogat was seen partying before her death and two others – Dattaprasad Gaonkar and Ramdas Mandrekar – were also arrested in the murder of TikTok star.

People cited above said the CBI will take over the First Information Report (FIR) and case diary, statements and other documents of Goa Police and begin investigations.

Phogat’s brother, Rinku welcomed the move. News agency PTI quoted him saying “our family has been demanding CBI investigation in this matter right from the start”.

He told PTI the family suspects a “conspiracy” behind her death and only a CBI probe can bring the truth out.

(With PTI inputs)