Sonali Phogat was drugged by personal assistant, his friend: Police
The Goa Police on Friday said that Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sonali Phogat might have died under the influence of drugs. Police said the two accomplices arrested in her alleged murder admitted to mixing obnoxious substances in her drink. They had arrested her personal assistant Sudhir Sagwan and his friend Sukhwinder Singh on Thursday on murder charges following the complaint by Phogat's family.
Why does this story matter?
A former Bigg Boss contestant and content creator with close to nine lakh followers on Instagram, Phogat was visiting Goa with her staff. On Tuesday, she reportedly suffered a heart attack based on a preliminary report by a team of doctors. However, the police on Thursday registered a murder case into her death following the postmortem.
What exactly did the police say?
"On the basis of CCTV footage, it was seen that Sangwan and his associate Singh were partying with Phogat at a club. A video establishes that one of them forcefully made the victim consume a substance," IGP Omvir Singh Bishnoi told ANI. He said when the accused were confronted, they confessed to intentionally mixing an obnoxious chemical into her drink.
Phogat probably died under the influence of drug: IGP
According to IGP, the suspects took Phogat to the toilet at around 4:30 am when she was not in control. "There is no explanation of what they did for two hours," said Bishnoi. "The FSL team will take them to various places. The duo will be produced in court soon," he said, adding that she probably died under the influence of the drug.
Two aides charged with murder following the postmortem
Police had earlier said that Phogat traveled to Goa with her aides Sagwan and Singh. Following the postmortem report, the charges were filed against the duo under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The case was filed against them at the Anjuna Police Station on Wednesday on the complaint of Phogat's brother.
What did the family allege?
On Wednesday, Phogat's nephew Vikas accused Gangwan, who also serves as her secretary, of plotting her murder. Phogat's sister too claimed foul play in her death. "I received a call from her the evening before her death. She said she wanted to talk over WhatsApp & said that something fishy is going on," her sister Rupesh had told ANI.
