Post-mortem report mentions injuries on BJP's Sonali Phogat's body
murder charge pressed against two associates
Panaji, Aug 25: Goa Police on Thursday pressed a charge of murder against two associates of BJP leader Sonali Phogat after a post-mortem report mentioned that there were "multiple blunt force injuries" on her body.
Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code was added to the case related to the death of the 42-year-old leader, a senior police official told PTI here.
Sudhir Sagwan and Sukhwinder Wasi, who had accompanied Phogat when she arrived in Goa on August 22, were named as accused in the case, he added.
Her brother Rinku Dhaka had filed a complaint against the two men at Anjuna Police Station on Wednesday.
A panel of forensic experts from the Goa Medical College and Hospital conducted the autopsy on her body on Thursday morning after her family agreed to the procedure.
Dr Sunil Shrikant Chimbolkar of the Forensic Science Department of GMCH in his report reserved the opinion on the cause of death.
The cause of death due to the best of my knowledge and belief is reserved pending chemical analysis. Histopathology and serological reports of the tissues preserved, the report said.
However there are multiple blunt force injuries over the body. In view of the above, the manner of death is for the investigating officer to ascertain," it added.
Phogat, who hailed from Hisar in Haryana and found fame on TikTok, was brought dead to the St Anthony Hospital in Anjuna in North Goa district on August 23 morning. The cause was given as a suspected heart attack.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told reporters in Panaji on Thursday that state Director General of Police Jaspal Singh was personally monitoring the investigation.
The autopsy was earlier scheduled on Wednesday, but Phogat's brother claimed she was murdered by two of her associates and the family would agree to autopsy only after an FIR was registered against them. On Thursday morning, Sonali Phogat's nephew Mohinder Phogat told PTI that the family had consented to autopsy on condition that it would be video-graphed.
Dhaka, her brother, had alleged that a short while before her death, Phogat had spoken to her mother, sister and brother-in-law. She sounded disturbed during the conversation and complained against her two colleagues, he claimed. Three years ago, one of her aides had sexually assaulted her after spiking her food and later blackmailed her, Dhaka further alleged in the police complaint.
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No need for guv: DMK leader Kanimozhi
Chennai (PTI): Senior DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Friday reiterated her party’s opposition to the office of the governor amid uncertainty over government formation in Tamil Nadu after a fractured election mandate.
Speaking to PTI Videos, Kanimozhi emphasised that the DMK’s demand for the abolition of the governor’s post remained unchanged, especially as questions arise over constitutional propriety during the current political transition.
"Our position that we do not need a governor at all is something the DMK has never changed at any point in time," she said.
When asked about the governor’s actions following the election results—particularly the delay in inviting the leading party to form the government—Kanimozhi pointed to what she described as the "inherent friction" between the office of the governor and the political interests of the state.
She said the current situation "raises a lot of questions" and requires introspection regarding constitutional procedures.
Kanimozhi described the election results as lacking a "clear mandate", which she identified as the primary reason for the prevailing political uncertainty in the state.
"What the people decide is supreme," she said, adding that while the mandate was not decisive, it must be respected.
The Thoothukudi MP attributed the ongoing delays and "many confusions" to the absence of a decisive majority for any single party.
She firmly dismissed rumours about the DMK potentially supporting the AIADMK from outside to help stabilise the government.
She described such reports as mere "speculation" and "rumours".
"We can’t be responding to every rumour," she said, declining to comment on the AIADMK’s claims regarding its numbers to form the government.
The political situation in Tamil Nadu remains fluid as stakeholders await the governor’s next constitutional step in an Assembly where no party has secured a clear majority.
The DMK and AIADMK—both of which suffered significant losses to the TVK—are reportedly exploring tactical manoeuvres to navigate the hung Assembly.
The TVK, with 108 seats and the support of Congress’s five MLAs, is still short of the majority mark. The DMK and AIADMK secured 59 and 47 seats, respectively.
