GUWAHATI, Oct. 28: Judicial custody of five of the seven accused in legendary singer Zubeen Garg’s death case has been extended by the Kamrup Metro district chief judicial magistrate (CJM) court here by another 14 days.
The CJM court had earlier this month remanded the accused — North East India Festival chief organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta; Zubeen’s manager Siddharth Sharma; cousin and police officer Sandipan Garg; and two personal security officers, Nandeswar Bora and Paresh Baishya — to 14 days’ judicial custody, following which they were taken to a prison in Baksa district amidst tight security.
The five accused were produced before the CJM court on Monday through video conferencing after their initial judicial custody period ended. The virtual appearance was prompted by a state holiday on Wednesday owing to Chhath Puja.
Notably, the police convoy taking the five accused to the Baksa district jail on October 15 was attacked by an unruly mob, with stones pelted at vehicles at the entrance of the jail, prompting police to resort to lathi-charge and tear gas shelling.
A section among the protesters, shouting slogans demanding justice for the late singer, also set police and media vehicles ablaze as the situation turned from bad to worse with several policemen and mediapersons suffering injuries. Subsequently, police had to resort to firing, with two local youths sustaining bullet injuries.
The volatile situation had even prompted the district administration to impose Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in order to prohibit the assembly of five or more persons in the area.
On the other hand, two other individuals arrested in the case — the singer’s bandmate, Shekharjyoti Goswami, and co-artiste Amritprabha Mahanta — had earlier been remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody after their police custody term ended, and taken to a prison at Haflong in Dima Hasao district on October 17.
It may be mentioned that the special investigation team (SIT) of Assam CID is currently probing the case and have taken the statements of over 70 individuals.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while speaking to mediapersons on Tuesday, said that the investigation carried out by the probe team was nearing completion and that a chargesheet would be presented before the court soon.
A two-member delegation of SIT had recently visited Singapore – where the singer ‘mysteriously’ passed away while swimming in the sea during a yacht trip to an island on September 19 – as a part of the ongoing probe into the case.
Facts regarding the probe (which is also being conducted by Singapore Police Force) into the case were discussed with the visiting probe team of Assam CID.
The Singapore Police had released a media statement on October 17, informing that its probe findings would be submitted to the State Coroner within 90 days.
