MUMBAI: The Goa police said on Friday that BJP leader and actor Sonali Phogat was drugged by her manager Sudhir Sangwan and his aide Sukhwinder Singh at a restaurant on Anjuna beach.
Sonali’s family members who had earlier alleged foul play in her death said they suspected political conspiracy in the murder.
Goa IG Omvir Singh Bishnoi said the investigators confronted the two suspects with the CCTV footage from Curlies restaurant that they visited on August 22. The two “confessed” to having forced Sonali to consume an “obnoxious” substance after which she became unstable.
“We don’t know what exactly the chemical was -- apparently a synthetic drug -- that was added to the drink forcibly given to her. Chemical analysis can go into that aspect,” he said.
The suspects have been remanded in police custody for two days after they were produced before a judge.
Phogat, who belonged to Hisar, was brought dead to St Anthony Hospital in Anjuna in North Goa on August 23.
The cause of her death was attributed to a suspected heart attack.
“Sudhir Sangwan and Sukhwinder confessed that they had intentionally given the accused some obnoxious chemical after which the victim wasn’t herself and needed care,” Bishnoi said.
The police are yet to identify people who are seen partying in the CCTV footage.
The last rites of Phogat were held in Hisar with a large number of people turning up to pay their last respects.
Phogat's teenage daughter Yashodhara lit the funeral pyre as she along with her other family members bade her a tearful adieu at a cremation ground in Rishi Nagar.
Shortly before her last rites, Phogat's brother Rinku Dhaka reiterated that her death was not because of natural causes and an in depth probe was needed to bring out the truth.
Phogat was brought dead to St Anthony Hospital at Anjuna in North Goa district on August 23 morning from her hotel.
Doctors had then said prima facie it appears she died of a heart attack.
Goa IGP Omvir Singh Bishnoi said both the accused have been arrested by the Anjuna police under whose jurisdiction the crime took place.
He said the CCTV footage of the restaurant was examined by the investigating officer and it was found that Sagwan was forcefully making Phogat drink "obnoxious chemical" mixed with water from a water bottle.
A Goa police press statement later said an "obnoxious substance" was mixed with drinking water.
The incident took place at Curlies restaurant in Anjuna on the intervening night of August 22 and 23, Bishnoi told reporters in Panaji.
Sagwan and Singh confessed during questioning that they had intentionally mixed the "obnoxious chemical" in water, he said.
The motive behind killing her could be some "economic interest," the IGP said.
The two men were seen taking Phogat to the washroom of the restaurant around 4.30 am on August 23 and the three of them were inside the toilet for two hours, he said.
Custodial interrogation will throw light on what happened during those two hours, Bishnoi added.
CCTV footage showed Phogat staggering out of the restaurant while being unable to walk on her own and was seen helped by one of her associates.
The Goa police press note said Sangwan had confessed to the crime stating that after reaching Goa he along with Singh took Phogat to Curlies restaurant on the pretext of partying.
At the restaurant, Sangwan allegedly mixed some "obnoxious substance" in drinking water and forced Phogat to drink it.
After drinking the water, Phogat felt uneasy and sick in the restaurant, it added.
Phogat's brother Rinku had alleged in a complaint that she was murdered by her personal assistant Sangwan along with Singh with the intention to take over her properties and financial assets and finish her political career, the press note said.
"Since post-mortem report has not mentioned the exact cause of death and would be available only after chemical examination of viscera (large internal organs in the body), histopathological and serological reports which would take a while, to avoid the possibility of destruction of evidence and influencing the witnesses, both the accused are arrested," IGP Bishnoi said.
Two other women were also with the accused at the party and were seen cutting a cake, he said, adding both were being questioned.
Asked about the "multiple blunt force injuries" on Phogat's body mentioned in the post-mortem report, Bishnoi said as per the accused these could have been caused by abrasion while she was being taken to the hospital.
When she was taken to the hospital, there were no visible injuries, hence doctors suspected that she died due to a heart attack, the IGP said.
But Phogat seemed to have actually died due to the substance she was fed at the restaurant, he added.
Police will also record the statement of taxi drivers who ferried Phogat from Curlies restaurant to the hotel where she was staying and later to the hospital, Bishnoi said, adding more people were supposed to join her and others from Mumbai.