PANAJI
Mystery shrouds the sudden death of the BJP leader and actress Sonali Phogat as her family refused consent for a post-mortem in Goa. Sonali succumbed en route to a private hospital in Anjuna on Tuesday morning, hours after she spoke to her mother over a phone call purportedly complaining about ‘feeling uneasy.’
The Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) formed a panel of two forensic doctors “ Lecturer Dr Sunil Chimbolkar and Assistant Lecturer Dr Cheryl Soares - to conduct an autopsy on the deceased on Wednesday.
The deceased’s mother, sister and brother, who air dashed to Goa on Tuesday evening, refused to give their consent while demanding that Anjuna police register a case of murder against two suspects identified in the complaint letter or that the Goa government hand over the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation. They have sought for a post mortem in AIIMS, Delhi.
Sources confirmed that Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and the police higher-ups are in direct contact with Goa Police over the matter. “The CM and Haryana Police are being regularly updated about the development in Goa. We have shared details of the ongoing preliminary inquiry with them as well,” a senior officer told The Goan.
The local police are currently inquiring about the case as an unnatural death even as the CCTV video footage of Curlies beach shack restaurant where she was last seen dining with her friends, and the resort where she booked her stay for three days from August 22-24, 2022 are being examined.
“Though we aren’t ruling out any possibility that led to her death, prima facie she suffered a heart attack,” the officer said.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant tried to downplay the case claiming “prima facie the death is owing to cardiac arrest but an investigation is underway.”
NCW team in Goa to probe into death
PANAJI: A two-member fact finding team of the National Commission for Women arrived in Goa on Wednesday to enquire into BJP leader Sonali Phogat’s death. The Commission is likely to probe drugs angle considering that the beach belt is notorious for this illegal activity.
The Commission members visited the resort as well as Curlies to understand the sequence of events prior to her death. “This is a sensitive case. The fact finding team will conduct a parallel enquiry and submit its report to the Chairperson thereafter,” said an official, who has been accompanying the team in Goa. The woman members will also record statements of the staff at the resort and beach restaurant besides all those who came in contact with Phogat during her stay.
