Sonali Phogat: Drug peddler detained as mystery intensifies over BJP leader’s death

Murder charges were earlier filed by the Goa Police against Sudhir Sagwan and Sukhwinder Singh. The two male friends of the Haryana BJP politician are accused of adding an “obnoxious substance” to water and making her drink it when they were out partying in a restaurant.

According to a top police officer, “economic interest” may have been the driving force behind the alleged murder of Phogat. The duo was also arrested to “avoid the possibility of destruction of evidence and influencing the witnesses”, the police said.

The investigating officer looked at the restaurant’s CCTV footage and discovered that Sagwan was forcefully having Phogat consume the aforementioned substance mixed with water from a water bottle.

During questioning, Sagwan and Singh admitted that they had purposefully combined the “obnoxious chemical” with water. Around 4.30 am on August 23, the two males were observed escorting Phogat to the restaurant’s restroom. Phogat died in her hotel room soon after.

Dattaprasad Gaonkar, the suspected drug dealer, was taken into custody after the accused pair “confessed” in their statement that they had bought drugs from him, the police claimed.

Also Read: BJP’s Sonali Phogat dies of heart attack at 42: 5 things to know

Edwin Nunes, the owner of the Curlies restaurant where Phogat partied late on August 22 before passing away mysteriously, is another person who has been detained.

Phogat’s family has been outspoken about their suspicion about the way the former Bigg Boss contestant died. Her brother Rinku Dhaka claimed that she did not die naturally and that further investigation was required to determine the truth.

Also Read: Sonali Phogat’s death: Family agrees for postmortem with this condition

The Congress on Saturday demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged murder of the BJP leader. Goa Leader of Opposition Michael Lobo claimed the police were trying to hush up the matter.

“Many politicians said that her death was due to a heart attack. But finally, it has been revealed as murder. There is more to this murder than meets the eye and every angle needs to be investigated. These kinds of cases need to be investigated by the CBI to unravel the truth,” Lobo told PTI.

(With agency inputs)

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