Phogat murder case transfer: CBI team in Goa, talk formalities with state police

A team from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) met Goa police officials on Friday to process the transfer of investigation of Sonali Phogat’s murder. The move comes days after the Goa government wrote to the Union Home Ministry to hand over the investigation into the murder of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sonali Phogat in the state to the CBI.

The CBI team also met the north Goa district SP Shobhit Saxena to discuss the formalities.

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Two aides of the victim, Sudhir Sangwan and Sukhwinder Singh, were arrested and booked for the murder, while three drug peddlers were held by the state police as part of its murder inquiry.

While Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had expressed satisfaction with the state police’s investigation, he had said earlier this week that he was willing to hand over the case to the CBI. Sawant’s capitulation came following the demands made by the family of the deceased politician, and TikTok star, as well as Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

Subsequently, the Union home ministry, too, recommended the CBI investigation into Phogat’s death.

Phogat died in the beach village of Anjuna last month, after partying with her two associates, both of whom were accused of administering banned drugs on her. She died the next morning, on August 23.