New Delhi: Two days after BJP leader Sonali Phogat’s death Tuesday, the postmortem report has mentioned “multiple blunt force injuries” on her body. The autopsy, a copy of which was accessed by ThePrint, however, does not mention these injuries as the cause of death.
The Goa Police Thursday registered a case of murder in connection with Sonali’s death, which was earlier suspected due to a heart attack.
“Although the cause of death has been reserved, pending chemical analysis, histopathology and serological reports of the tissues preserved, however, there are multiple blunt force injuries over the body,” the autopsy report noted.
Speaking to ThePrint, a forensic expert said, “It is important to know the details of the injuries and where they were found, to ascertain if they actually led to her death. But it is clear that these injuries were inflicted, which means she was thrashed.”
The actor-turned-politician, who went to Goa on 22 August and was staying at a hotel in Anjuna, started feeling “uneasy” on 23 August and was taken to the hospital where she was declared brought dead.
Sonali’s brother Rinku Dhaka had Wednesday filed a complaint with the Goa Police, accusing her personal assistant Sudhir Sangwan and his aide Sukhvinder of killing her. A case of murder was subsequently registered against the duo and they were detained, a senior police officer confirmed to ThePrint. A copy of the FIR has been accessed by ThePrint.
Speaking to ThePrint, Sonali’s younger brother, Vatan Dhaka, said, “Sangwan joined her team before the 2019 elections. He came to her looking for the job and she hired him. Since then he has always been with her. He and Sukhwinder killed her. We suspect she was also raped before being killed,” he said.
The complaint also mentions Sangwan allegedly raping Sonali three years ago after spiking her drink. “He threatened her that he would make the video of the act viral. She said that he threatened and blackmailed her and again raped her. He said it will destroy her political career,” it read.
Her sister Raman had earlier ruled out the possibility of Sonali suffering a heart attack and sought a CBI investigation into the matter. Sonali’s other sister, Rupesh, had also told the media that she spoke with her on the phone the evening before her death. Sonali, according to Rupesh, had said that “she wanted to talk over WhatsApp and also said that something fishy” was going on. “Later, she cut the call and then didn’t pick up,” Rupesh said.
Also read: BJP leader Sonali Phogat’s death is alleged murder, Goa Police files case against 2 people
‘She was murdered by her personal assistant, his aide’
In the complaint, Rinku, her brother-in-law Aman Punia and nephew Monindar Phogat alleged that Sangwan and Sukhvinder “had committed Sonali’s murder to usurp her property and it was a political conspiracy”.
“These two men never left her side. Previously, there was also a theft in her house while she was away in the reality show Bigg Boss. Jewellery and cash worth Rs 20 lakh was stolen. They had some involvement in it too. Sonali must have found out and they killed her. Moreover, she had started complaining about feeling unwell every time she ate her food,” Vatan said.
According to the complaint, Sangwan had removed Sonali’s cook from his job and said he would take care of her food. “Three months ago, she said that Sudhir (Sangwan) gave her kheer (rice pudding). She couldn’t move her limbs after eating food. When she asked him, he would manipulate her,” it noted.
The complaint also said, “On 22 August, she called up our brother-in-law Punia saying that Sangwan mixed something in her food due to which she was restless and anxious. She said that the theft in her house in 2021 was done by Sangwan with his friends and that she will come to Hisar the next day and inform the police about it.”
‘Sonali felt threatened’
In his complaint, Rinku also claimed that Sonali felt so threatened by Sangwan that she stopped talking to relatives and family members, while he kept both her phones, ATM cards, property papers and keys.
Rinku also said that Vatan had received a call from Sangwan on 23 August informing about Sonali’s death during a film shoot. After reaching Goa, however, Rinku said they found out there was no shoot and instead she had plans of going to Chandigarh.
“Apart from these two, there are others also involved,” the complaint added.
Also read: No sharp-edged injuries found on Sonali Phogat’s body, says Goa Police
Source: The Print
