New Delhi: An Assam Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) has charged the manager-organiser of the Singapore festival, where Zubeen Garg was scheduled to perform, with his murder. The celebrity singer’s long-term manager Siddharth Sharma and his bandmates, co-singer Amritprava Mahanta and musician Shekhar Jyoti Goswami—all three of whom were visiting Singapore with him—have also been slapped with BNS Section 103 (murder).
Before Zubeen’s performance at Singapore’s Northeast Festival, organised by now-murder accused Shyamkanu Mahanta, he was on a yacht with his team when he allegedly went into the water for a swim and died. Since then, his unexpected death has fuelled waves of speculation and political upheaval in the north-eastern state.
On Friday, the SIT levelled murder charges in its chargesheet filed before Guwahati’s Kamrup court against the four persons based on charges framed by the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led Assam government.
For long, Sarma has maintained that Zubeen was murdered as part of a conspiracy. The chargesheet, he said Friday, spans nearly 12,000 pages, including documents obtained from Singaporean authorities. However, Sarma said that the chargesheet is based on sufficiently strong evidence gathered in the state only to secure a conviction.
“As promised, we have filed a chargesheet in the court of CJM. A few individuals have been charged with murder, one has been charged with culpable homicide, and the other two PSOs face other charges,” the Assam Chief Minister said.
Seven people have been arrested in the case, including Zubeen’s cousin—Assam police’s Sandipan Garg—and two personal security officers (PSOs). All of them had accompanied Zubeen to Singapore.
Now, Sandipan Garg has been charged under BNS Section 105—culpable homicide not amounting to murder. PSOs Paresh Baishya and Nandeswar Bora have been charged with sections of criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust.
Assam SIT findings, however, are different from the Singapore Police findings that did not find any foul play in Zubeen’s death.
“The case is currently being investigated by the SPF, in accordance with Singapore’s Coroners Act, 2010. Based on preliminary investigations, the SPF does not suspect foul play,” the Singapore Police statement said in October this year.
Next moves
The chargesheet, along with supporting documents, witness examinations, and seizure records, has been a meticulous exercise, Himanta said.
“Although we have taken documents from Singapore, we have substantiated the case with our own independent records,” he told the press in Guwahati.
Himanta also said that his government would approach the Gauhati High Court to conduct a speedy trial in a fast-track court.
“The chargesheet has been filed in a way that the documents collected in Assam itself are sufficient to prove the charges. After a prolonged investigation and extensive hard work, the chargesheet is now before the court. It is now up to the court to deliver justice,” Himanta said.
“…our next steps will be to approach the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court to request a fast-track court and to appoint a special public prosecutor for this case. However, these steps will be initiated only after the case is committed to the sessions judge and the judge takes cognisance of it.”
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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