A day after arresting two associates in connection with the murder of Haryana BJP leader Sonali Phogat, police in Goa arrested two others, an alleged drug dealer and a club owner, as part of their investigation into the murder.
Police claim that Dattaprasad Gaonkar allegedly provided drugs to Sudhir Sangwan and Sukhwinder Singh, who is believed to have drugged Phogat, while Edwin Nunes, who runs Curlies beach shack, was arrested after drugs were found in the toilet of the shack's premises.
Director General of Police Jaspal Singh also said that the marks of physical injuries that came to the fore during the post-mortem of Phogat's remains, were caused after Sangwan and Singh tried to resuscitate the victim after she passed out.
"They thought she had a heart attack, so they tried to resuscitate her through mouth-to-mouth and by pressing her chest also (for CPR). That may have caused the injury..." Jaspal Singh said.
On Friday, Inspector General of Police Omvir Singh Bishnoi had said that Singh and Sangwan had administered an "obnoxious chemical" in Phogat's drink on the night before she died. The duo were arrested on Friday under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and have been remanded to 10 days in police custody by a local court.
On Saturday, police affected two more arrests, including Dattaprasad Gaonkar, who allegedly provided drugs to Phogat's associates and Curlies owner Edwin Nunes, according to Deputy Superintendent of Police Jivba Dalvi.
Phogat, who had complained of uneasiness on Monday night after dinner, was brought dead on arrival at a local hospital in North Goa on Tuesday (Aug. 23) morning.
She was holidaying in Goa with her associates. Her family had however alleged foul play in Phogat's death, even though Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had initially claimed that Phogat had died due to a heart attack.
On Saturday, Sawant however said that anyone linked to the crime would be punished "one hundred per cent".
“Police are investigating the case. At present, the accused are in police custody. One hundred per cent they will be punished. Be it drug peddler or anyone else, those involved in the murder case of BJP leader Sonali Phogat will be punished,” the Chief Minister told reporters.
“Goa is a tourist state. Various types of tourists come here. We welcome them in the spirit of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava'. This means there should not be any hurdle to tourists,” Sawant also said.