Prime accused Sudhir Sangwan granted bail in Sonali Phogat murder case

A court in Goa has granted bail to Sudhir Sangwan, prime accused in last year's murder of Haryana-based Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sonali Phogat.

Phogat (43) died in Goa's beach village of Anjuna in August last year, after partying with her two associates, both of whom were accused of administering her banned drugs.

The district and sessions court on Friday granted bail to Sangwan and directed him to furnish a bail bond of Rs one lakh.

The court also directed him not to leave the state and appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) every Friday, a lawyer representing him said.

Sangwan and his accomplice Sukhwinder Singh were arrested by the Goa police last year in connection with the case.

Phogat was holidaying in Goa when she died due to drug overdose during the intervening night of August 22 and 23. She had arrived in Goa with the two male aides Sangwan and Singh a day before the incident. Sangwan and Singh were accused of drugging her in a resort and later at a nightclub, where they were partying.

In November last year, the CBI filed a 1,000-page chargesheet in this case. The central probe agency, which took over the probe in September last year, filed the case against the accused duo under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 302 (murder) and other provisions at a special court in Mapusa.