Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said on Monday that the state government has written to the Goa government to recommend a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the death of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and social media personality Sonali Phogat.
Phogat died under mysterious circumstances in Goa last week. Goa Police has so far arrested five people in the case and has claimed that she was drugged before her death. Her family is from Haryana's Hisar district.
Vij's statement comes after Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar gave an assurance to Phogat's family members who met him at his residence on Saturday evening and sought a probe by the CBI into her death. Khattar had assured the family that his government will write to the Goa government regarding it.
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Vij said Pogat's family has levelled serious allegations that "big names" can also be involved in the murder case.
Phogat had found fame on app TikTok. Police have so far arrested Phogat's personal assistant Sudhir Sagwan, another aide Sukhwinder Singh, owner of Goa's Curlies Restaurant Edwin Nunes, and alleged drug peddlers Dattaprasad Gaonkar and Ramakant Mandrekar.
"Sonali Phogat's family had given a letter to the chief minister demanding a CBI inquiry into the matter. The family has levelled serious allegations that big names can also be involved in this murder. On the basis of the letter of the family, the state government wrote to the chief minister of Goa to get the matter probed by the CBI.. so that all the facts in the case come out," Vij was quoted as saying in a statement.
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Vij said that whenever the Goa Police team decides to come to Haryana, the state police will cooperate with them. Both the states are ruled by BJP.
Meanwhile, in Panaji, Goa CM Pramod Sawant said on Monday that his government will submit an Action Taken Report (ATR) in the case to the Haryana government. He told reporters that the Goa Police is investigating the case in the right direction.
Phogat was also a contestant on the reality TV show Big Boss. She was brought dead to a hospital in North Goa on August 23, a day after arriving there with two of her male companions.
Sawant had on Sunday said his government was ready to hand over the Phogat death probe to the CBI. He had also said that Khattar had spoken to him requesting a detailed investigation into the case.
Sudhir Sagwan and Sukhwinder Singh have been booked on the charge of murder.
(With PTI inputs)
