Sonali Phogat death: Goa govt begins demolition of Curlie’s restaurant

On September 6, the case was heard by the NGT bench chaired by Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel. The bench had upheld the order of GCZMA disposing of the petition filed by the restaurant management.

The Goa government on Friday began to demolish the controversial restaurant 'Curlies' at Anjuna in North Goa linked to the death of Haryana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sonali Phogat for violating the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms.

Recently, the restaurant was in the news after Phogat was found partying at the outlet hours before her death. Its owner Edwin Nunes was among five persons arrested in the Phogat death case and he was later granted bail.

"The demolition squad of the district administration along with Anjuna police personnel arrived at the beach around 7:30 am to demolish the restaurant that was built in 'no development zone' in violation of the CRZ norms," the official said.

The action against the restaurant was initiated after its owner failed to get any respite from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) against the 2016 demolition order of Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA).

On September 6, the case was heard by the NGT bench chaired by Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel. The bench had upheld the order of GCZMA disposing of the petition filed by the restaurant management.

On Thursday, the district administration had issued a notice asking its demolition squad to raze the structure on Friday. Deputy collector of Mapusa sub division Gurudas ST Desai had issued the notice.

Earlier in August this year, BJP leader Sonali Phogat was declared dead on arrival at a hospital in Goa. The BJP leader was allegedly drugged at Curlie's by her two aides.

Although the police had initially registered an accidental death report on Phogat's death, they soon turned it into a murder investigation. This was triggered by CCTV footage from the restaurant where the TikTok star was seen hours before her death.