Goa: Prime accused in Phogat case have gala time at Colvale jail

Preferential treatment to inmates ~ if not all ~ at Colvale Central Jail isn’t a secret any longer, and the latest to get pampered is Sudhir Sangwan and Sukhwinder Singh, accused in the most controversial killing of BJP leader and Tik Tok star Sonali Phogat.

Charged with murder, both are lodged in the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) block, where in fact only those booked for drug-related offences are housed. Sources told The Goan that Sangwan and Singh are lodged in Cell Number 3 along with two others, incidentally from Haryana, and booked for extortion and kidnapping. One of them is reportedly identified as Sushil Singh aka Rishab, the prime accused in the case wherein he led an inter-state gang whose members in Goa and Delhi lured and cheated gullible employment seekers with the promise of emigration to Canada.

“After the two accused were remanded to judicial custody, the jail authorities opened a new Cell in the same block to shift other accused, and replaced them with Sangwan and Singh in Cell Number 3. All needs are catered to,” the source said even as the Prisons Department denied special treatment to any inmate. The revelation indicates that the NDPS block is not exclusively meant for drug offenders but is also shared by inmates booked for other crimes.

While the duo in the high-profile crime is currently being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Delhi; they face a separate FIR by Anjuna police for allegedly possessing narcotics. “They were interrogated for the offence under section 22 (B) of NDPS Act along with Edwin Nunes by Anjuna police. They are not needed in this case anymore, at least so far and is still being probed by the local police,” an official said. 

As per section 22 B of NDPS Act, the contravention involves quantity lesser than commercial quantity but greater than small quantity, with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years and with a fine which may extend to one lakh rupees.

The Anjuna police had booked the trio and a few others following a raid at Curlies shack, allegedly owned by Nunes, as a part of its probe into the Phogat case. The team had recovered 2.2 gm of meth from the women’s restroom on the first floor of the now-partly demolished shack.

With over two months in jail, Sangwan and Singh were recently interrogated by the CBI in a separate space of the jail. “No jail staff or policemen were allowed during the interrogation,” sources said.