Moving ahead in its probe into the death of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sonali Phogat two days ago, the Goa Police on Thursday arrested her two associates, Sudhir Sagwan and Sukhwinder Wasi, after her post-mortem report mentioned that there were “multiple blunt force injuries” on her body.
The arrest comes after the police registered a charge of murder against two associates after the provisional post-mortem report was issued.
According to police officials, Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code was added to the case related to the death of the BJP leader.
As per Goa Police officials, Sagwan and Wasi, who had accompanied Phogat when she arrived in Goa on August 22, were named as accused in the case.
In the provisional post-mortem report, the cause of death was reserved pending chemical analysis, histopathology and serological reports of the tissues preserved.
“However, there are multiple blunt force injuries over the body. In view of the above, the manner of death is for the investigating officer to ascertain,” it said.
Earlier, Phogat’s brother, Rinku Dhaka, had filed a complaint against the two men at Anjuna Police Station on Wednesday. He also alleged that a short while before her death, Phogat had spoken to her mother, sister and brother-in-law. “She sounded disturbed and complained about her two colleagues,” he said.
On Thursday, an autopsy was conducted on Phogat’s body at the Goa Medical College and Hospital.
Phogat had contested the 2019 Haryana Assembly elections from the Adampur constituency against Kuldeep Bishnoi, who was in Congress at that time and joined the saffron camp recently.
Phogat was very popular on social media and video-sharing platforms like TikTok. She also appeared in the 14th edition of the famous reality show Bigg Boss. She was a resident of Hisar and is survived by a daughter. Her husband died a few years back, as per people close to her.
Phogat was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a resort in Goa. The Anjuna Police had registered a case of unnatural death, with an official saying she died of a suspected heart attack.