BJP Leader Sonali Phogat's Family Agree For Autopsy, Demand It Be On Video

Two days after the death of BJP leader Sonali Phogat in Goa, a family member has said they have agreed to give their consent for the autopsy or forensic exam, but with a condition that the procedure be video-graphed.

The autopsy was earlier scheduled at the state-run Goa Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday.

But, Sonali Phogat's brother Rinku Dhaka on Wednesday claimed she was murdered by two of her associates. He said the family will allow the postmortem only after the Goa Police register an FIR or police case against the two persons.

This morning, Sonali Phogat's nephew Mohinder Phogat told Press Trust of India that the family has given consent for the autopsy with a condition that the entire procedure be video-graphed.

"The police have told us that the FIR in connection with our complaint would be filed after conducting the postmortem," he said.

Sonali Phogat, 42, a BJP leader from Hisar in Haryana who had found fame on Tik Tok, was brought dead at the St Anthony Hospital in Anjuna area of North Goa district on Tuesday morning, a police official earlier said, adding that she died of a suspected heart attack. The police subsequently registered a case of unnatural death.

The body is currently kept in the Goa Medical College and Hospital morgue.

Goa Medical College and Hospital officials said they were waiting for a green signal from the state police to conduct the autopsy.

The hospital has already formed a panel of two forensic experts to conduct the forensic exam.

Goa Medical College and Hospital has already formed a panel of two doctors to conduct an autopsy on the body.

Sonali Phogat's brother Rinku Dhaka has filed a complaint with the Goa Police claiming she was murdered by two of her associates.

He alleged that a short while before her death, Sonali Phogat had spoken to her mother, sister and brother-in-law. She sounded disturbed and complained against her two colleague, he added.

He also claimed that the CCTV cameras, laptop and other crucial things from her farmhouse in Haryana have gone missing after her death.

Three years ago, one of her aides sexually assaulted her after spiking her food and later blackmailed her, Rinku Dhaka further alleged in the police complaint. No FIR has been registered over his complaint yet.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said the state police were conducting a detailed investigation into Sonali Phogat's death.

Considering the opinion of doctors and Goa Director General of Police (DGP) Jaspal Singh, it looks like she died due to a heart attack, Mr Sawant said.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)