Sonali Phogat death case: Goa govt ready to hand over probe to CBI, if required, says CM Pramod Sawant

New Delhi: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Sunday (August 28, 2022) said that his government is ready to hand over the case of death of BJP leader Sonali Phogat to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), if required. Phogat, a BJP leader from Hisar in Haryana and contestant on the reality TV show "Big Boss", was brought dead to a hospital in North Goa on August 23.

Talking to reporters in Panaji, Sawant said that Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has also spoken to him requesting for a detailed investigation into the case.

Sawant said that his Haryana counterpart told him that the Phogat family wants the CBI to take over the case. 

Sonali Phogat's family had met Khattar in Chandigarh on Saturday.

"I don't have any issue with it. After all formalities today, if required, will give this case to the CBI," the Goa CM said.

Sawant also said that the Goa Police are thoroughly investigating the case.

Earlier in the day, the Goa Police arrested one more drug peddler in connection with the case of alleged murder of Sonali Phogat. With this, five people have so far been arrested in the case.

On Saturday, the Anjuna police in North Goa district arrested drug peddler Rama alias Ramadas Mandrekar for allegedly supplying drugs to another peddler Dattaprasad Gaonkar, who is already in custody in connection with the case.

Gaonkar had allegedly supplied drugs to two other accused Sudhir Sagwan and Sukhwinder Singh, who accompanied Phogat on the Goa trip.

The Goa Police on Saturday said Phogat was given methamphetamine, a recreational drug, by her aides hours before her death.

Edwin Nunes, the other arrested man, is the owner of the Curlies restaurant in North Goa where Phogat and her aides had partied on the intervening night of August 22 and 23.

While Singh and Sagwan are charged with murder, Nunes and Gaonkar are booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

A local court on Saturday remanded Sagwan and Singh in police custody for 10 days.

Phogat was brought dead to St Anthony Hospital at Anjuna in North Goa district on August 23 morning from the hotel where she was staying. While doctors said Phogat had a heart attack, her brother alleged that Sagwan and Singh, who had arrived in Goa with her, had played a role in her death.

(With agency inputs)