Sonali death case: 2 accused arrested; family satisfied with probe

GOA: The Goa police on Friday arrested the two persons accused in connection with the alleged murder of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sonali Phogat.

The police have arrested Phogat's PA Sudhir Sangwan and his associate Sukhwinder Singh and have taken them for a medical checkup.

The accused were arrested in the case, earlier in the day, after the police accessed the CCTV footage of the accused and the deceased partying at a club.

"On the basis of CCTV footage, it was seen that the accused Sudhir Sangwan and his associate Sukhwinder Singh were partying with the deceased at a club.

A video establishes that one of them forcefully made the victim consume a substance," Inspector General of Police Omvir Singh Bishnoi said.

Meanwhile, Phogat's brother Rinky Dhaka said, "We are satisfied with how the investigation into the murder of my sister has progressed.

The CCTV footage has revealed the truth. We cremated my sister today, will look into the further process to get her justice now."

The accused persons had travelled to Goa along with Phogat on August 22.

"When confronted, Sukhwinder and Sudhir confessed that they intentionally mixed an obnoxious chemical into a liquid and made the victim drink it," IGP Omvir Singh Bishnoi said.

The two accused- Sudhir Sangwan and Sukhwinder Singh- have been arrested and further investigations are on, the Goa Police said.

Sonali Phogat's brother Rinku Dhaka had earlier filed a complaint alleging that Phogat was murdered by Sudhir Sangwan, her personal trainer along with Sukhwinder Singh who intended "to take over her properties and financial assets to finish her political career. "

The drugging incident happened at Curlies Restaurant at Anjuna in North Goa, according to the confession by the accused.

The two accused confessed that after they intentionally mixed an obnoxious chemical into a liquid and made the victim drink it, which made her feel uneasy, after which they took her to the hotel and then to St. Anthony's Hospital, where she was declared brought dead," the Goa police said The police also said that the CCTV footage confirmed that the victim was forcibly given the substance.

But the exact cause of her death will be confirmed only after experts from the forensic science laboratory.

Dhaka alleged that "Phogat's PA raped her after adding drugs to her meals". He also claimed that the actor had no plans to visit Goa and she was brought there as per a conspiracy. "She had no plan to come to Goa. She was brought as per a pre-planned conspiracy. There was no movie shoot.

Two rooms in the hotel had been booked only for two days. Film shooting was supposed to happen on August 24 but rooms were only booked for August 21-22," Dhaka said. After Dhaka's complaint, new reports surfaced that claimed Haryana MLA Gopal Kanda was helping Sangwan and Sukhwinder.

However, on Friday, Dhaka denied the allegations while speaking to the media in Haryana. Sonali Phogat's post-mortem was done in Goa and as per Rinku Dhaka, the post-mortem report revealed four injuries and poison as the cause of death. "A probe should be done as per the filed FIR.

The post-mortem report says that her (Sonali Phogat) body has marks of injury," Dhaka said earlier.

Goa Police on Thursday said no sharp-edged injuries were found on the body of the actor.

The Goa Police had also registered a murder case against the two accused on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Phogat's last rites were conducted on Friday at Hisar in Haryana. The actor, who rose to fame with her TikTok videos, contested the 2019 Haryana election as a BJP candidate but lost to then Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi (he has since joined the BJP).

She also appeared in the reality show Bigg Boss in 2020.