Sonali Phogat murder case: Prime accused Sudhir Sangwan granted bail
Panaji (PTI): A court in Goa has granted bail to Sudhir Sangwan, prime accused in last year's murder of Haryana-based Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sonali Phogat.
Phogat (43) died in Goa's beach village of Anjuna in August last year, after partying with her two associates, both of whom were accused of administering her banned drugs.
The district and sessions court on Friday granted bail to Sangwan and directed him to furnish a bail bond of Rs one lakh. The court also directed him not to leave the state and appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) every Friday, a lawyer representing him said.
Sangwan and his accomplice Sukhwinder Singh were arrested by the Goa police last year in connection with the case.
Phogat was holidaying in Goa when she died due to drug overdose during the intervening night of August 22 and 23. She had arrived in Goa with the two male aides Sangwan and Singh a day before the incident. Sangwan and Singh were accused of drugging her in a resort and later at a nightclub, where they were partying.
In November last year, the CBI filed a 1,000-page chargesheet in this case. The central probe agency, which took over the probe in September last year, filed the case against the accused duo under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 302 (murder) and other provisions at a special court in Mapusa.
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West Asia war: Vessel carrying 20,000 tonnes of LPG reaches Gujarat crossing Strait of Hormuz
Kandla (Gujarat) (PTI): A vessel carrying 20,000 metric tonnes of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) arrived at Deendayal Port Authority in Kandla in Gujarat after crossing the Strait of Hormuz amid the West Asia crisis, officials said on Sunday.
The Marshall Islands-flagged MV SYMI started its journey from Qatar and docked at the port in Kandla around 11.30 pm on Saturday after crossing the Strait of Hormuz on May 13, they added.
Since early March, 13 India-flagged vessels, comprising 12 LPG tankers and one crude oil tanker, have crossed the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway close to the coast of Oman through which roughly one-fifth of the world's energy supplies pass.
It has been severely disrupted by the conflict in West Asia that started on February 28, with the US and Israel launching joint attacks on Iran, triggering retaliatory strikes. It has resulted in one of the worst energy crisis the world has seen in recent decades.
Incidentally, at a special meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNECOSOC) on safeguarding energy and supply flows, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Parvathaneni Harish said targeting commercial shipping, endangering civilian crew and impeding freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is "unacceptable".
On May 13, an India-flagged commercial vessel came under attack off the coast of Oman.
Omani authorities rescued all 14 crew members of the vessel sailing from Somalia, but it was not immediately known who carried out the strike.
