Authorities in Goa have detained five persons – including a drug peddler , for the reported death of Haryana BJP leader Sonali Phogat the official said on Sunday. The arrest was made late on Saturday night. Authorities from Anjuna in the North Goa district of Anjuna assert that Rama who goes by the name of Ramadas Mandrekar, supplied drugs to another drug dealer Dattaprasad Gaonkar, who is currently in custody on suspicion of supplying the drugs for Phogat’s close associates and the main suspects – Sudhir Sagwan, and Sukhwinder Singh. The two were with Phogat during her Goa trip and were allegedly able to spike her drink with drugs.
Phogat 43-year-old Phogat former TikTok star who gained acclaim through appearances on the reality TV reality show Big Boss 14, died on Tuesday following an cardiac arrest.
On the weekend, Jivba Dalvi (deputy superintendent of police) stated that Phogat had been given an recreational drug, methamphetamine along with another (as yet unidentified drug) that was seized from the restroom of the restaurant where Phogat was with her companions prior to her death.
Police have also detained Edwin Nunes – the owner of the Curlies restaurant, where Phogat and her assistants were drinking in the days before her death.
Sagwan and Sukhwinder S. Singh confessed to police that they sourced drugs from Gaonkar who worked in Gaonkar’s job at the Hotel Grand Leoney Resort in Anjuna in the area they were staying.
Nunes, Rama and Gaonkar were arraigned in the court of Goa today. They were sent to five days of police detention for five days.
Singh and Sagwan have been accused of murder, and Nunes and Gaonkar have been booked as part of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
A number of CCTV footages of the eatery have surfaced in social media after the beginning of the investigation. In one video, Phogat can see dancing alongside Sagwan while Sagwan tries to force her to drink something which she then spits into the air.
A second video showed Phogat being taken out of the restaurant, she’s barely able to walk her own – by the person accused. Phogat is seen staggered and nearly falling down the stairs as she walks out.
Phogat died at St Anthony Hospital at Anjuna in the North Goa district on August 23 morning , from the hotel in which she was staying.