After a post-mortem revealed “multiple blunt force injuries” on BJP leader Sonali Phogat’s body, Goa Police on Thursday filed a murder charge against two of her associates.
According to a senior police official, the case involving the 42-year-old leader’s death has been amended to include Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
The two individuals who had travelled with Phogat when she arrived in Goa on August 22 were named as defendants in the case, he continued.
On Wednesday, her brother Rinku Dhaka reported the two men to the Anjuna Police Station.
After her family gave their consent, an autopsy was performed on her body on Thursday morning by a team of forensic specialists from the Goa Medical College and Hospital.
In his report, Dr. Sunil Shrikant Chimbolkar of the GMCH’s Forensic Science Department expressed a reserve regarding the cause of death.
To the best of my knowledge and belief, the cause of death is not yet known pending chemical analysis. The report stated histopathology and serological reports of the tissues preserved.
“However, the body has numerous blunt force traumata. Given the foregoing, it is up to the investigating officer to determine how the death occurred “It was ad.
Phogat, a popular TikTok user who was from Hisar, Haryana, was brought dead on August 23 in the early hours to the St. Anthony Hospital in Anjuna, North Goa. An alleged heart attack was cited as the cause.
The investigation was being personally overseen by state Director General of Police Jaspal Singh, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told reporters in Panaji on Thursday.
Wednesday’s autopsy was originally scheduled, but Phogat’s brother claimed she was killed by two of her friends, and the family wouldn’t consent to it until a FIR was filed against them. Sonali Phogat’s nephew Mohinder Phogat told PTI on Thursday morning that the family had agreed to the autopsy under the condition that it be videotaped.
Her brother Dhaka claimed that Phogat had spoken to her mother, sister, and brother-in-law just before she passed away. He claimed that she sounded agitated during the conversation and begrudged her two colleagues. Dhaka also claimed in the police complaint that three years prior, one of her assistants had spiked her food and then sexually assaulted her before extorting money from her.
