The ‘Sarv Jatiya Khap Mahapanchayat’ Sunday gave an ultimatum to the Haryana government to recommend a CBI probe into the death of social media influencer and BJP leader Sonali Phogat by September 23, failing which they will another such council on September 24 and take a “tough decision”.
The mahapanchayat was held at Hisar’s Jat Dharamshala. Sonali’s daughter Yashodhara and other family members also took part in the council.
Phogat, 43, whose death is being treated as a case of murder, died in the intervening night of August 22-23, a day after she arrived in Goa. She died after consuming drugs allegedly administered by her personal assistant Sudhir Sangwan and his associate Sukhwinder Singh. Sudhir and Sukhwinder are now in police custody.
The all caste mahapanchayat took an unanimous decision that if the government does not hand over the case to CBI by September 23, then they will hold another mahapanchayat on September 24. It also announced that a delegation of khaps will meet Hisar’s Superintendent of Police Lokender Singh and seek adequate security for Yashodhara. The council also constituted a 15-member committee, including five members of Phogat’s family, to decide on further course of action .
Yashodhara too demanded a CBI inquiry into her mother’s death. “Support me to get justice for my mother,” she said.
The Goa Police has been conducting investigations into Phogat death case. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had earlier urged his Goa counterpart Pramod Sawant to handover the case to the CBI. Sawant, however, has remained non committal.
During their week-long investigations in Haryana, the Goa Police team visited Phogat’s farmhouse in Hisar, a flat in Noida and another flat in Gurgaon that was rented by Sangwan. Phogat and Sangwan had stayed at the Gurgaon flat before leaving for Goa on August 21. The Goa Police team had also inspected Sangwan’s residence at Rohtak and spoke with his father Satvir Sangwan and wife Deepti Sangwan.
Phogat’s family members have been demanding a CBI probe, saying they were dissatisfied with the Goa police probe. They have alleged that Sangwan killed Phogat with an intention to grab her property.
Goa Police has so far arrested five persons including Sangwan and Sukhwinder in connection with an the FIR registered on charges of murder.
Earlier in the day, Phogat’s brother Rinku Dhaka said if the government had decided to recommend a CBI inquiry, then there would not have been any need to hold the Khap Mahapanchayat. He reiterated that his family is not satisfied with the investigation by the Goa Police.
With PTI, Hisar
