Guwahati, Apr 23 (PTI) The hearing on the bail application of Shyamkanu Mahanta, a key accused in singer Zubeen Garg death case, concluded on Thursday, with the special fast-track court reserving its order till April 30.
The hearing, which began on Wednesday, resumed in the morning, with Mahanta’s counsel refuting the prosecution’s arguments.
After the hearing concluded in the afternoon, Justice Sharmila Bhuyan reserved the order, stating it would be delivered on April 30.
Mahanta, organiser of the North East India Festival, had moved the bail plea on April 10, a day after the Assam Assembly polls.
The court also heard another petition filed by Mahanta seeking the return of his seized documents and personal belongings.
His counsel argued that he should be granted bail as he would cooperate with the investigation and was not a flight risk.
They also contended that his incarceration for over seven months warranted relief.
Special Public Prosecutor Ziaur Kamar opposed the plea, saying discrepancies existed between Mahanta’s statements and the evidence, particularly regarding the supply of alcohol to the late singer.
Kamar said the accused had claimed to have sent an email stating Garg should not be given alcohol, but evidence suggested he had asked an Assamese resident in Singapore to purchase a bottle for the singer.
Another accused and the singer’s manager, Siddhartha Sharma, filed a corrected bail petition after his earlier application was kept pending due to certain discrepancies. Sharma’s bail hearing is scheduled for Friday. Proceedings for framing of charges against the accused will continue on a day-to-day basis in the special fast-track court.
The Gauhati High Court had on March 16 set up an exclusive fast-track sessions court for the case, with logistical support provided by the state government.
A five-member special public prosecutors’ team, headed by Kamar, had been earlier appointed by the government for the case.
The 52-year-old singer died while swimming in the sea on September 19 last year in Singapore, where he had gone to attend the fourth North East India Festival (NEIF).
Following the incident, the state government appointed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under Assam Police’s CID to probe the death, which filed a chargesheet before a local court here, naming seven accused who are now in judicial custody.
Mahanta, Sharma, the singer’s two band members, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amrit Prabha Mahanta, face murder charges, while his cousin and suspended Assam Police DSP Sandipan Garg is charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Garg’s two PSOs, Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya, have been charged with criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust by misappropriating funds or property entrusted to them. PTI DG DG MNB
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