Sonali Phogat's drink was 'spiked' by aides at party in North Goa

Tribune News Service

 & PTI

Hisar/Panaji, August 26

Haryana BJP leader Sonali Phogat was fed some “obnoxious chemical” through her drinks by her two aides during a party at a North Goa restaurant which apparently caused her death, the police said on Friday.

She was cremated at the Rishi Nagar cremation ground in Hisar today. The two accused, Sudhir Sangwan and Sukhwinder Singh, have been arrested and charged with murder.

CCTV footage of the resort in Goa shows Sonali being taken away by her personal assistant (PA) Sudhir Sangwan on August 23 when she had died. The motive behind the murder of the 42-year-old politician could be “economic interest”, said a senior police official, adding the duo was arrested to “avoid the possibility of destruction of evidence and influencing the witnesses.”

Sangwan and Singh were her associates and had arrived in Goa with her on August 22. Sonali Phogat was brought dead to St Anthony Hospital at Anjuna in North Goa district on the morning of August 23 from her hotel. Doctors had then said that prima facie, it appeared she died of a heart attack. Inspector General of Police (IGP) Omvir Singh Bishnoi said the CCTV footage of the restaurant was examined and it was found Sangwan was forcefully making Phogat drink the alleged liquid in a water bottle.

The incident took place at ‘Curlies’ restaurant at Anjuna in North Goa district on the intervening night of August 22 and 23, Bishnoi said.

Sangwan and Singh confessed during questioning that they had intentionally mixed the substance in her drinks, the IPS officer said. The motive behind killing her could be some “economic interest,” the IGP said.

The two men were seen taking Phogat to the washroom of the restaurant at around 4.30 am on August 23 and the three of them were inside the toilet for two hours, he said.

Two other women were also with the accused at the party and were seen cutting a cake, he said, adding both were being questioned.

Meanwhile in Hisar, a family acquaintance revealed that the dramatic appearance of Sangwan changed so many things in Phogat’s life. “Soon after the Lok Sabha 2019 poll, Phogat informed me about Sudhir Sangwan. She said he was coming to meet her at a farmhouse and would work with her till the 2019 Assembly poll. Soon, he won Phogat’s trust that she started following him blindly.

“During the Assembly poll when she got a ticket from Adampur Assembly segment, Sangwan started staying with Phogat almost permanently,” he informed The Tribune, adding that he was not drawing any remuneration in lieu of his services.

“Later, despite the fact that her staff and the family members were irked at Sangwan’s style of functioning and dubious nature of his activities, she was not ready to listen to anything against him and made it clear to the staff. Soon, Sangwan started targeting staff members and replaced them with his trusted people. He was also the sole reason behind the differences between Phogat and her family members,” the acquaintance alleged.

He added that Sudhir belonged to Khera village in Sonepat district and his family was settled in Rohtak but he hardly visited his family. “Due to Sangwan’s activities, I refused to work with Phogat after the Assembly poll,” he said.

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