ANJUNA: The party has ended. For now. On Friday (Saturday edition), Herald raised pertinent questions on the source of the drugs and the role of the controversial Curlies shack. The next day its owner was – to quote a British slang – caught by the short and curlies- and arrested under section s of the NDPS act, covering a range of offenses
The Anjuna Police on Saturday arrested Edwin Nunes, who runs the controversy-steeped shack, and a drug peddler Dattaprasad Gaonkar in connection with ex ‘tik tok’ star & BJP leader Sonali Phogat’s murder case, taking the total number of arrests to four.
Gaonkar allegedly supplied the synthetic drug “Methamphetamine” to Sukhwinder Singh one of Phogat’s aides accused of mixing the “obnoxious chemical” in Phogat’s drink and forcing her to consume it.
Gaonkar was working as a room boy in Hotel Grand Leoney Resort, Anjuna where the accused and Phogat were staying.
Police sources said Sukhwinder had procured the synthetic drug from Gaonkar. One of the main stakeholders of this hotel too, is a prominent nightclub owner,
Police have also sealed the first floor of Curlies and toilets for further investigation.
“We are investigating the case from all angles. The drug was found in the restaurant’s washroom but only the chemical analysis report will confirm whether this was the same drug that was mixed in Phogat’s drink. More arrests are expected. Further investigation is in progress”, said Anjuna PI Prashal Desai.
Meanwhile, both Sudhir Sangwan and Sukhwinder Singh were produced before the JMFC court Mapusa and were remanded to 10 days police custody.
Police sources said the two main accused Sudhir Sangwan and Sukhwinder Singh are cooperating with police interrogation. “However, they are hiding the motive behind the murder, whether to grab Phogat’s property or tarnish her image to finish her political career”, they said.
The political chatter around the case has obviously intensified Calangute MLA Lobo, whose wife Delilah Lobo is the MLA from Siolim, in which constituency the incident took place, demanded that high-profile cases like this should be investigated by the CBI
Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai asked if the Goa Chief Minister receive phone calls from high-profile politicians from Haryana to go slow in the matter at the initial stage. He said the Chief Minister should resign if not step down as home minister to allow the police to conduct a free and fair investigation.
