Explained | Sonali Phogat death: why has Goa's famed restaurant 'Curlies' been demolished

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 for violating the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms, an official said.

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 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 said.

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 Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA).

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The case was heard on September 6 by the NGT bench chaired by Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel. The bench had upheld the order of GCZMA disposing of the petition filed by the restaurant management.

On Thursday, the district administration had issued a notice asking its demolition squad to raze the structure on Friday. Deputy collector of Mapusa sub division Gurudas S T Desai had issued the notice.

According to police, Phogat, a former TikTok star and contestant on the reality show 'Bigg Boss', was allegedly drugged at the restaurant before her death on August 23.