Guwahati, Nov. 25: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday termed the death of legendary singer and cultural icon Zubeen Garg as “murder” and not “culpable homicide.”
Addressing the first day of the winter session of the Assam Legislative Assembly amidst an adjournment motion moved by the Opposition to discuss the circumstances surrounding the singer’s ‘mysterious’ death in Singapore on September 19, the chief minister said, “It is on record in the court that it (Zubeen’s death) is a case of murder…I am saying this in the Assembly today and we will pursue the case…and who has murdered, this too we have noted…one person committed the act and others assisted. So, we have booked four to five people in the murder case.”
Sarma further said that the state police, after conducting the preliminary probe into the case, had no doubt that it was not a case of culpable homicide, but murder, which is why, Section 103 of BNS was added to the case within three days of his death.
Notably, the special investigation team (SIT) of Assam CID, which is probing the case, has so far arrested seven accused, who are currently in judicial custody, and taken the statements of over 200 witnesses.
“A thorough probe is being conducted by the SIT and that a watertight chargesheet will be filed in the case next month,” the chief minister said, adding that after the chargesheet is submitted, the investigation would be extended to other aspects dating back to the pre-COVID days.
Earlier, the winter session of the Assam Legislative Assembly opened on a tense note as Leader of the Opposition, Debabrata Saikia moved an adjournment motion demanding clarity on the circumstances surrounding the death of the music icon and the government’s silence on the issue.
Raising the matter in the House, Saikia, while terming Zubeen Garg as an irreplaceable cultural treasure of Assam, said that any lapse concerning his safety warranted immediate accountability. He further questioned the Assam government why it “failed” to ensure adequate security arrangements for an artist of Zubeen’s stature during his visit to Singapore.
In response, the chief minister said the government was “equally seized of the matter” and requested that the adjournment motion be taken up in the House.
Sarma, during the course of his speech, urged the Opposition not to demoralise the SIT in its probe.
“We are not here to play politics in the name of Zubeen. If you want justice for our beloved Zubeen, then do not try to demoralise the SIT,” he appealed.
“Listening to the Opposition’s statements in Assam, it feels like in their pursuit of advocating for the killers of Zubeen Garg. If the government has made a mistake, then the complainants should have approached the SIT, and not television (the media),” the chief minister said.
“When the chargesheet is submitted, and if any advocate says it is weak, then it is a different issue. But today, when nobody has seen the chargesheet, why are you attacking the chief minister,” he asked.
