PANAJI
The Sonali Phogat death probe continues to unveil new revelations. After the grieving family and a filmmaker, the BJP leader’s driver has now charged her prime accused Sudhir Sangwan with taking control of her finances, movable and immovable properties. Driver Umed Singh has reportedly claimed that Phogat ran out of money to an extent that she didn’t have a minimum balance to pay for her daughter’s school fees.
Goa Police is likely to record his statement as it has expedited its probe to prepare a watertight case against Sangwan and his associate Sukhwinder Singh.
"We have been given to understand that Phogat's driver is in the know about what she endured before her death. She had restricted access to her earnings. She had once received a call from her daughter's school informing her that the cheque bounced and she'll have to pay a penalty of Rs 500 to the bank per day," sources in the police said.
Phogat's personal and official engagements were exclusively handled by Sangwan were allegations that surfaced during the 16 days of the drug overdose-murder probe.
Sources further said that Phogat's brother had handed over Rs 1.45 lakh cash to Sangwan towards payment of the home loan, only to realize that the Gurugram home is not in her name. "Sangwan hid the fact that he was the owner of the flat when he requested and later accepted the cash from her brother Vatan Dhaka," sources said.
While he tried to take possession of her farmhouse in Hisar, Sangwan had shifted a Mercedes car to Delhi as he was unable to pay a car loan of Rs 10-12 lakh while he sold a Scorpio car for Rs 8 lakh. From the money earned through the car's sale, he purchased another four-wheeler in Delhi. None of these cars that Phogat used to travel in was registered in her name.
The Goan had earlier reported that a filmmaker also accused Sangwan of blackmailing Phogat and exploiting her resources.
The Goa Police team, currently traveling to all the linked places, is expected to return to Goa with the evidence collected and statements of witnesses recorded during their probe in Haryana, Gurugram, and Noida.
