MAPUSA
Goa Police on Saturday arrested the owner of Curlies restaurant and a drug peddler who allegedly supplied the drugs to the accused in the sensational Sonali Phogat death case even as the two main accused – Sudhir Sangwan and Sukhwinder Singh – arrested a day before, were remanded to 10-day police custody.
Based on the confessional statement made by accused Sudhir, Anjuna Police conducted a search and seized drugs from one of the washrooms of Curlies late Friday night and arrested Edwin Nunes the owner of the restaurant the next morning.
The seized drug has been identified as Metamemphatamine. According to police, 2.20 grams of the drug were found in the washroom.
The police investigation also revealed that drugs were supplied to Sukhwinder Singh by a drug peddler Dattaprasad Gaonkar, a resident of Valpoi.
“Gaonkar was working as a room boy in Hotel Grand Leoney Resort, Anjuna, where the deceased and the two accused were staying,” said Jivba Dalvi, Mapusa SDPO.
However, police officials could not confirm whether it was the same drug used in the drink served to the deceased.
Nunes and Gaonkar were arrested under Sections 22 B, 25 and 29 of the NDPS Act.
Police informed that Curlies restaurant per se was not sealed but the party zone on the first floor, where the deceased and the accused were partying on the fateful Monday night, was sealed.
“If the need arises during the course of the investigation, we could open the area for further evidence,” the police official said.
Meanwhile, a JMFC court in Mapusa has remanded the two main accused – Sudhir Sangwan and Sukhwinder Singh – to 10-day police custody even as Anjuna police had demanded 14 days.
The police told the court that the remand was necessary to primarily find the motive in the case. Police also said there was a need to inquire about the involvement of property deals and the political career of the victim. Police further told the court that the involvement of some more accused cannot be ruled out and therefore custodial interrogation of the accused was necessary.
A police officer involved in the investigation informed that the two main accused have been cooperating in the probe but were not coming out on the motive to carry out the dastardly act.
In the meanwhile, the owner of Curlies, Edwin Nunes has moved for regular bail which will come up in court on Sunday.
