Sonali Phogat death case: Goa Police arrest restaurant owner, drug peddler; 4 held so far

Two more people have been arrested, including the owner of the Goa restaurant where she was seen partying the night before her death. The fourth arrest was that of a drug dealer, police said.

In the latest development in the Sonali Phogat murder case, the Goa Police on Saturday arrested the owner of Goa's restaurant where she was seen partying. Police have recovered drugs from the bathroom of the club. The police has detained a drug peddler on Saturday who had supplied drugs to accused Sukhwinder Singh.

The Goa Police on Friday said that BJP leader Sonali Phogat was drugged by the accused in the coastal state. This comes a day after the Goa Police arrested two associates of the Haryana-based actor -- Sudhir Sagwan and Sukhwinder Wasi -- in connection with her 'murder' following the post-mortem report said there were "multiple blunt force injuries" on her body.

Addressing the media, Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Goa, Omvir Singh Bishnoi said, "On the basis of CCTV footage, it was seen that alleged Sudhir Sangwan and his associate Sukhwinder Singh were partying with the deceased at a club. A video establishes that one of them forcefully made the victim consume a substance."

Phogat was at the famous Curlie's restaurant-cum-nightclub on Anjuna beach on Monday where she was forcibly made to drink "some obnoxious substance" mixed in water by her two associates, the police said, citing security camera footage and alleged confessions.

The IGP further said, "When confronted, they confessed that they intentionally mixed an obnoxious chemical into a liquid and made the victim drink it." The police also said that there can be a possibility of an economic motive behind the BJP leader's death.

Sonali Phogat hailed from Hisar in Haryana and found fame on TikTok. She was brought dead to St Anthony Hospital at Anjuna in North Goa district on August 23 morning. Doctors had said prima facie she died of a heart attack. However, the post-mortem report mentioned that there were "multiple blunt force injuries" on her body.