Sonali reportedly went for a party Monday evening at a restaurant in Anjuna, where she complained of “uneasiness”. (PTI Photo)Hours after BJP leader and actress Sonali Phogat, 42, died in Goa early on Tuesday, reportedly due to cardiac arrest, her family hinted at foul play, prompting the Haryana Congress to demand a CBI probe into her death.
Sonali’s elder sister Ramen Phogat said that she spoke to her on Monday night, around 11 pm, and Sonali told her that she was “feeling uneasy” and “was not feeling comfortable after eating her meal”.
Ramen told the media that she had spoken to Sonali on Monday morning. “She told me that she was feeling ok and was going for a shooting. I asked her when would she come back to our farmhouse, to which Sonali replied that she would come here on 27th [August],” Ramen said.
“Our mother spoke with her yesterday and Sonali told her, ‘Mummy, I am feeling slightly upset in the stomach. I can sense some problem soon after eating my food as if somebody was doing something to me.’ Sonali also said that she was feeling as if something was not alright and as if some conspiracy was being played on her and as if somebody was doing something to her,” Ramen said. “Then, in the morning we received a phone call that she was no more. I told her last night that she should visit a doctor immediately if she was not feeling alright. But, then, in the morning we got to know that she had died due to heart attack,” she added.
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Soon after Sonali’s sister’s statement went viral on social media, Haryana Congress president Udai Bhan posted a tweet and released a statement demanding a CBI probe into her death. “I received the sad news of Sonali Phogat ji’s sudden death that took place under mysterious circumstances. I pay my condolences to the bereaved family. I demand that CBI should investigate this death,” Udai Bhan said.
Sonali is survived by a 15-year-old daughter Yashodhara, a student at a renowned private school at Hisar.
Sonali reportedly went for a party Monday evening at a restaurant in Anjuna, where she complained of “uneasiness”. She was taken to St Anthony’s Hospital at Anjuna in North Goa district where the doctors declared her dead on arrival.
Goa’s Director General of Police Jaspal Singh told the media that Phogat had complained of uneasiness was she was at ‘Curlies’ restaurant in Anjuna from where she was taken to the hospital. The DGP added that, prima facie, there does not appear to be any foul play and there were no external injury marks on the body. However, he added that the exact cause of death would only be ascertained after the post-mortem report.
The post-mortem examination would be conducted at the state-run Goa Medical College and Hospital at Bambolim. Sonali’s family members have left for Goa and will bring her body back to their native village in Hisar after the post-mortem examination is over.
Several top BJP leaders, including Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, tweeted their condolences on Sonali’s death.
Kuldeep Bishnoi, against whom she had contested from Adampur constituency in 2019 as a BJP nominee, also tweeted and expressed grief over her death. Bishnoi, in 2019, had contested on a Congress ticket and defeated Sonali. As news about Bishnoi joining BJP started appearing in the media, Sonali had launched a ‘sarcastic attack’ against him. However, soon after joining BJP, Bishnoi even went to meet her at her residence in Hisar about a week ago.