MHA orders CBI probe into Sonali Phogat's death

Phogat (43), the BJP leader from Hisar in Haryana, died in Goa last month and her death is being treated as a case of murder

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday has ordered a CBI probe into the suspicious death of BJP leader Sonali Phogat in Goa last month, a decision welcomed by her family. Sonali (43) was found dead in Goa on the intervening night of August 22-23.

The decision came after Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The MHA then asked the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which has the administrative control of the CBI, to get the case probed by the premier investigating agency.

Sawant said that Goa Police has done a "tremendously good investigation" in the case and have also got some clues. "But due to the demand of people from Haryana and also Sonali's daughter, we have decided to write to the Union Home Ministry to hand over this case to the CBI,” Sawant was quoted by PTI as saying in Panaji.

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Earlier, Goa Police had arrested five people, including two aides of Sonali identified as Sudhir Sangwan and Sukhwinder Singh, in connection with the case under charges of murder.

Welcoming the decision, Sonali's brother Rinku Phogat said the family had been demanding CBI investigation in this matter right from the start.

The family suspects a "conspiracy" behind her death and only a CBI probe can bring the truth out, Rinku said, expressing confidence that the CBI will probe deeply into the matter.

On Sunday in Hisar, the 'Sarv Jatiya Khap Mahapanchayat' had given an ultimatum to the government to recommend a CBI probe into the case by September 23 or else they will start a mass agitation. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had said in Gurugram that the Haryana government also wants a CBI inquiry into this case.