BJP leader and TikTok star Sonali Phogat’s murder case has been finally taken over by the CBI. This decision should have been taken much earlier. The reasons behind not doing it are inexplicable. As per the government, Goa Police’s investigation was heading in a right direction then why has the case been transferred to the CBI now? Was it because it was asked by Phogat’s relatives or because of the demand made by the powerful Khap Panchayat in Haryana? Can the relatives affected by the crime choose which system should be investigating the case? And even if they demand, is it a compulsion to agree to it? Would the government system have acted this sensitively in a common men’s murder case? Every life matters and should not be categorised differently as famous and as common. The police in Siddhi Naik’s murder case did not inform medical officers as to why the viscera report was held back.
The cause behind her death did not come to the light even till the end. However, in Phogat’s case, police had shown promptness to an extent where they had instructed to appoint a medical team. In that case, if the police’s priorities regarding working on a case depends on who the dead person is, then any form and level of protest is simply not enough. The interest shown by the government in the case was extraordinary as well. Phogat was a national BJP leader and the party ruled in Haryana. Hence, it was natural for the leaders of both the States to stay in contact with each other. Having said that one has to take a deeper look at why and how the government, who was saying that the investigation is on the right track from the beginning, suddenly agreed to hand over the case to the CBI. There should be no disagreement regarding finding the truth behind Phogat’s death however, it is not right to make it look like this is the only case police have to work on.
Everyone is equal in front of law and similarly, police should treat each case with equal importance. Phogat’s death occurred in Goa and we are yet to know whether she was brought to Goa just to be murdered. If the answer to this is yes then it raises serious questions on the Law and Order system in the State. Police are yet to determine whether Phogat died of cardiac arrest or drug overdose or was murdered. If she was murdered then they have not been able to cite the reason behind it. Therefore, although the government has been insisting that investigation was being carried out properly, the case should have been handed over to the CBI long back. It was revealed on social media that Sonali Phogat’s husband too had died under suspicious circumstances. Her close relatives had openly expressed doubt over Phogat’s circle. Although Phogat died in Goa, the events leading up to this must have happened in Haryana, Delhi, etc. And hence, a system such as the CBI is the right body to investigate a multi-state organised crime. The case has been transferred to CBI after much delay and so, the premier investigating agency will have to rely on evidence collected by the Goa Police. Their prime evidence is an autopsy report by GMC.
The CBI officials can now only rearrange the proofs or investigate other locations to see if they can add anything to the already conducted inquiry. Regardless, the biggest challenge for the agency will be to determine the cause of Phogat’s death. Goa Police investigated the case so far and the panchnama of how well they were investigating was seen during the hearing of bail applications of Curlies’ beach shack owners.
It is not necessary to go into the details again. Phogat’s family had decided to approach the High Court of Bombay at Goa were the case not transferred to CBI. Powerful Khap panchayat in Haryana too paid attention to the case and there was no option left other than for CBI to take over the investigation. At the pace the Goa Government took action and the Ministry of Home Affairs issued the notice, it is understood that an influential power is behind all this. The people also deserve to know how Goa Police’s swift investigation suddenly fell so short that CBI had to take over the case. Phogat was a known personality and hence, due attention is paid in her case. The question whether a common person’s murder would have been treated with similar promptness remains unanswered. Government’s frequently changed stance in this case is shady and although CBI taking over the further investigation is welcoming, it does raise a lot of eyebrows.
