PANAJI
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday approved the request of the State government for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over the probe in the case of alleged murder of TikTok star and BJP leader Sonali Phogat.
Earlier on Monday, Chief Minister Sawant said he had decided to hand over the investigation into the case to the CBI, a day after the Khap panchayat in her native Hisar district voiced the demand and threatened a mass stir.
"I will write to Union Home Minister today requesting him to hand over Sonali Phogat murder case to Central Bureau of Investigation. Due to continuous demand from the daughter of Sonali Phogat and the public, we have decided to hand over this case to CBI," Sawant had said while speaking to the media in the capital.
"Goa Police had actually almost reached close to cracking the case”, Sawant claimed.
Sawan has been under pressure to hand over the case to the CBI soon after Phogat died on August 23 after a night out at the controversial Curlies shack in Anjuna.
Initially being pursued as a case of cardiac arrest, police later booked it as a case of murder alleging that she was drugged by spiking her drink with 'obnoxious chemicals'.
Two of Phogat's associates -- Sudhir Sangwan and Sukhwinder Singh -- who were with her through her stay in Goa and in the hours leading to her death were arrested and are still in custody.
However the family of Phogat, who shot to fame online by uploading TikTok video content and unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Haryana election, including her teenage daughter have publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the Goa police probe.
They approached Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar with their demand for a CBI probe and the latter placed the demand before Sawant.
Until now, Sawant had managed to stave off the pressure and declined to bring in the Central agency by sharing a 'confidential note' about the progress of the investigation with his Haryana counterpart.
He however finally gave in after Sunday's demand and threat of a mass agitation by the Hisar khap panchayat which is said to be politically powerful in the Hindi belt State.
Goa's Opposition politicians, meanwhile, criticised Sawant for the decision to hand over the probe and alleged that he took the decision under pressure of his BJP leadership as the issue was getting too hot due to the ultimatum of the Khap panchayat.
Congress legislator Carlos Ferreira Alvares questioned the decision and sought to know whether it was an indictment of the Anjuna police, Mapusa DySP, North Goa SP and the Goa police as whole.
A former advocate general of the State, Alvares belittled Sawant's reasoning for the decision as prompted by continuous demands of the victim's daughter and the people.
"Why weren't other cases also similarly handed over to the CBI," Alvares asked pointing out the case of the mysterious death of Nachinola teenager, Siddhi Naik.
Goa Forward Party (GFP) president and Fatorda MLA, Vijai Sardesai, called it "warped sense of justice".
"Bowing to KhapPanchayats of #Haryana, @DrPramodPSawant has sent #SonaliPhogat case to #CBI while poor #Goan girl #SiddhiNaik is still denied justice and her family ignored and disowned by this @GovtofGoa. WHAT? #Goan lives are not worth anything?" Sardesai wrote in a tweet.
