Guwahati, June 9: The trial in the probe related to the death of celebrated Assamese singer Zubeen Garg continued on Tuesday with the examination of five more prosecution witnesses before a court here, taking forward the judicial proceedings in one of Assam’s most closely watched criminal cases.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Special Public Prosecutor Ziaur Kamar said that five witnesses had deposed before the court during the day. He added that evidence recording in the case is progressing steadily, and further witnesses are expected to be examined in the coming hearings.
“The trial is continuing, and today five witnesses were examined by the court. The process of recording evidence is underway,” Kamar said. The prosecutor also commented on developments relating to the bail plea filed by Siddhartha Sarma, a former manager of Zubeen Garg and one of the key accused in the case. According to Kamar, the Gauhati High Court has fixed a future date for hearing a petition connected to the matter and has sought records on the case.
He said the High Court directed that the relevant records be produced before it and subsequently listed the matter for hearing on a later date. The latest development comes days after the Gauhati High Court did not entertain Sarma’s earlier bail plea, resulting in no substantive hearing being held on the application. Sarma had approached the High Court after a Fast Track Court rejected his bail petition, citing the gravity of the allegations and the stage of the investigation.
The case pertains to the death of Zubeen Garg, who died on September 19 last year while swimming near Lazarus Island in Singapore, a day before he was scheduled to perform at an event organised under the North East International Festival (NEIF) banner. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Assam Police CID subsequently investigated the matter and filed a chargesheet naming seven accused persons, four of whom face murder charges.
IANS
