Sonali Phogat death: Unnatural death case registered, post-mortem tomorrow as family alleges foul play

BJP leader from Haryana and actor Sonali Phogat, who found fame on TikTok, died of a suspected heart attack in Goa, police said on Tuesday.

Goa Police have registered a case of unnatural death after Phogat (42), who was staying at a hotel, was declared "brought dead" at a hospital in Anjuna at around 9 am today. The post-mortem will be conducted on Wednesday to identify the exact cause of death. 

She was brought to St Anthony Hospital at Anjuna in North Goa district after she complained of uneasiness, Goa Director General of Police Jaspal Singh said. Singh said there is no foul play in the case, even as Phogat's family questioned the circumstances of her death and opposition parties in Haryana demanded a CBI probe.

There are no external injury marks on the body, the DGP said, adding that the postmortem report will reveal the exact cause of the death.

"Preliminary enquiry has revealed that she had come to Goa on August 22 and was staying in a hotel in Anjuna. Today early morning she started feeling uneasiness at a hotel and was shifted to hospital wherein she was declared brought dead," Deputy Superintendent of Police (Mapusa) Jivba Dalvi said.

Prime facie, the cause of death is established as a heart attack but further medical examination would be done, he said, adding the body was sent to the state-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) at Bambolim for postmortem.  

According to media reports, Sonali’s elder sister Ramon Phogat claimed that the former was feeling unwell last night and had complained about food. 

According to Ramon, Sonali told their mother over phone last night that she was feeling uneasy after eating food. She had also raised suspicion that her food had been adulterated, and that someone was conpiring against her.

Phogat, who had appeared in the Big Boss reality TV series, had unsuccessfully contested from the Adampur Assembly constituency in Hisar on a BJP ticket against Kuldeep Bishnoi in the 2019 Assembly election. Bishnoi, who was then in the Congress, recently joined the BJP.

Phogat was popular on social media and had recently posted photos of her meeting with Bishnoi.

Between 7 pm and 8 pm on Monday, Phogat had posted two different videos and four images on Instagram showing her in a pink turban.

Her sister Raman told reporters in Hisar that Phogat had called up her mother and told her about not feeling well after she had her food.

"She had said she was feeling uneasy. She sensed as if something was not right as if some conspiracy was being played against her. Later in the morning, we received the news that she was no more," she said, adding that Phogat did not suffer from any previous illness.