In a complaint to the Goa Police, the family of Haryana BJP leader and actress Sonali Phogat, who died in Goa early on Tuesday, has demanded that her personal assistant (PA) Sudhir Sangwan and his friend Sukhwinder Singh be booked for her murder, alleging that Sangwan raped and blackmailed her. With the police yet to register a first information report (FIR), the family has refused to give its consent for her post-mortem examination.
“The police are not cooperating with us. They are insisting that we should first get the post-mortem examination done and then they would register an FIR. We know that the viscera examination report would take at least one or two months, and till that time, the culprits will keep roaming freely. How can we trust the police when they are not even willing to register an FIR?” Sonali’s brother Rinku Phogat told The Indian Express.
In his complaint, Rinku cited two phone calls that Sonali made to her family members and alleged that she told her relatives that Sangwan raped her, blackmailed her using an intimate video shot by him, gave her drug-laced food, and threatened to ruin her acting and political career if she did not accept his demands. Rinku said that both Sangwan and Singh were at Goa’s Anjuna police station but the police had not taken any action against them yet.
The Indian Express tried contacting Sangwan on his phone but it was switched off.
Earlier on Wednesday, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had said that a thorough investigation would be conducted into Sonali’s death.
In his written complaint to the police, Rinku said that Sonali had been working as an actress in films for the last 15 years and that she was an active party worker of BJP who had contested the 2019 Assembly polls from Adampur, Haryana. The complaint added that Sangwan, a resident of Rohtak, and Singh, a resident of Bhiwani, met Sonali during the election campaign. Sangwan started working as Sonali’s PA and she trusted him and Singh, it said.
“In 2021, a theft took place at Sonali’s residence…After that incident, Sudhir terminated her cook’s services and started taking care of Sonali’s meals himself. About three months ago, Sonali called me and told me that Sudhir had served her some sweet-rice-pudding (kheer) after eating which she started shivering and her limbs stopped working. I questioned Sudhir, but he gave me an evasive reply,” Rinku said in his complaint.
He further alleged that as her PA, Sangwan used to take care of Sonali’s finances and paperwork. “She used to blindly trust him and sign any paper that he gave her. On August 22, 2022 evening, Sonali called her brother-in-law Aman Punia and she told him that Sudhir had given her some food mixed with something. She told him that she was feeling uneasy after eating that meal. She also told Aman that the theft that took place at her residence in 2021 was committed by Sudhir and his friend. She added that she would come to Hisar and inform Hisar police about it,” Rinku’s complaint said.
In his complaint, Rinku said that Sonali told her brother-in-law Aman Punia that Sangwan had repeatedly raped her three years ago after giving her drug-laced food. He further alleged that Sonali told Punia that Sangwan had also filmed an intimate video and blackmailed her, threatening to make it viral. “Sonali also told Aman that both her mobile phones, property documents, ATM cards and all the keys to her home were in Sudhir’s possession. She also told Aman that both Sudhir and Sukhwinder can harm her. While she was talking, the phone got disconnected,” the complaint added.
Sonali’s family had on Tuesday hinted at foul play with her elder sister Ramen saying that Sonali had spoken to her mother and complained about “feeling uneasy” after her meal. Rinku referred to this conversation in his complaint. “On the morning of August 23, Sudhir called our brother Vatan Dhaka and informed him that Sonali had died during a film’s shooting,” the complaint said.
According to Rinku, when the family members reached Goa, they learnt that there was no such film shooting. Rinku also alleged that Sangwan and Singh murdered Sonali “to grab her property and as part of a political conspiracy” and hinted at the involvement of more people.