Sonali Phogat's family agree for autopsy, wants it video-graphed

Panaji, Aug 25: Two days after the death of BJP leader Sonali Phogat in Goa, a family member on Thursday said they have agreed to give their consent for the postmortem, but with a condition that the procedure be video-graphed.

The autopsy was earlier scheduled at the state-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) near here on Wednesday. But, 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 a First Information Report (FIR) against the two persons. On Thursday morning, Sonali Phogat's nephew Mohinder Phogat told PTI that the family has given consent for the postmortem with a rider 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. 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 GMCH morgue. GMCH officials said they were waiting for a green signal from the state police to conduct the postmortem. The hospital has already formed a panel of two forensic experts to conduct the autopsy. GMCH has already formed a panel of two doctors to conduct postmortem on the slain's body.

Phogat's brother 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, 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, 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 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, Sawant said.