Haryana / Sonali Phogat Was Raped Repeatedly Over Years by her PA Charges Levelled By Her Brother

Haryana | In the case related to the death of Haryana BJP leader Sonali Phogat, her brother has made very serious allegations. He said that Sonali was raped and blackmailed. These allegations have been made by Sonali's younger brother Rinku Dhaka, a resident of Bhuthan Kalan village in Fatehabad district of Haryana. Rinku has accused her sister's PA Sudhir Sangwan and her friend Sukhwinder Singh of raping Sonali by giving her food intoxicants and blackmailing her by making a video.

In a complaint to the Goa Police, Sonali Phogat's family has demanded that her personal assistant (PA) Sudhir Sangwan and his friend Sukhwinder Singh be booked for their murder. He said that Sangwan raped and blackmailed her. The police have not yet registered an FIR. The family has refused to give their consent for Sonali's post-mortem.

Sonali's brother Rinku Phogat told The Indian Express, “The police are not cooperating with us. They are insisting that we first get the post-mortem done and then register an FIR. We know that the viscera test report will take at least a month or two and till then the criminals will be roaming freely. How can we trust the police when they are not ready to register the FIR itself?"

In her complaint, Rinku referred to two phone calls made by Sonali to her family members. They alleged that he had told his relatives that Sangwan raped her repeatedly over the years. He had made an intimate video of Sonali by mixing intoxicants in the food, on the basis of which he used to blackmail her. He used to threaten Sonali that he would ruin her acting and political career if she did not comply with her demands. Rinku said that both Sangwan and Singh were at Anjuna police station in Goa but the police have not taken any action against them so far.

Earlier on Wednesday, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had said that a thorough probe would be conducted into Sonali's death. In her written complaint to the police, Rinku said that Sonali had been working as an actress in films for the past 15 years and was an active party worker of the BJP, who contested the 2019 assembly elections from Adampur in Haryana. The complaint states that Rohtak resident Sangwan and Bhiwani resident Singh had met Sonali during the election campaign. Sangwan started working as Sonali's PA. Sonali trusted him and Singh.

In her complaint, Rinku said, “In 2021, there was a theft at Sonali’s residence… After that incident, Sudhir Sangwan fired Sanoli’s cook and took care of Sonali’s food himself. About three months ago, Sonali called me and told that Sudhir had served her some kheer after eating which she started shivering and her organs stopped working. I questioned Sudhir, but he answered me evasively."

He further alleged that as Sonali's PA, Sangwan used to handle Sonali's money and paperwork. He said, “She trusted him blindly and used to sign any paper given by him. On the evening of 22 August 2022, Sonali called her brother-in-law Aman Punia and he told her that Sudhir had given her some mixed food. He told her that he was feeling restless after eating the food. He also told Aman that the theft at his residence in 2021 was done by Sudhir and his friend. She said that she would come to Hisar and inform Hisar police about it."

Phogat, 42, a BJP leader from Hisar in Haryana, was brought dead on Tuesday morning at St. Anthony's Hospital in Anjuna, North Goa. A police officer had told that it is feared that he died of a heart attack.