[Watch] Sonali Phogat Death: Supreme Court Stays Demolition Of Goa’s ‘Curlies’ Restaurant

New Delhi: The Goa government on Friday morning began demolishing the controversial restaurant at Anjuna in North Goa linked to the death of Haryana Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sonali Phogat. However, that was not the reason cited for the action. The action was taken for violating the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms, an official said, NDTV reported.

The restaurant, ‘Curlies’, located on Goa’s famous Anjuna beach, was in news recently after Phogat was found partying at the outlet hours before her death. Its owner Edwin Nunes was among the five persons arrested in the Phogat death case and he was later granted bail.

“The demolition squad of the district administration along with Anjuna police personnel arrived at the beach around 7.30 am to demolish the restaurant that was built in ‘no development zone’ in violation of the CRZ norms,” the official was quoted as saying.

The action against the restaurant was initiated after its owner failed to get any respite from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) against the 2016 demolition order of the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA). However, within an hour, the owners approached the Supreme Court on Friday and managed to get a stay on the process.

A video posted by news agency ANI captured the demolition process. “We are providing police protection for the demolition. The restaurant is being razed as per the order,” deputy superintendent of police Jivba Dalvi was quoted as saying.