Union home minister Amit Shah has granted sanction under Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to pursue legal action against those accused of involvement in singer and Assamese cultural icon Zubeen Garg’s death in Singapore on September 19. The approval was announced on November 18, the 53rd birth anniversary of Zubeen.
The Assam police SIT has arrested seven persons in the case. The seven arrested — North East India Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, Zubeen’s manager Siddharth Sharma, cousin Sandipon Garg, PSOs Nandeswar Bora and Paresh Baishya, drummer Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, and singer Amritprabha Mahanta. All the seven are lodged in jail.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the approval followed evidence submitted by the SIT. He added that a chargesheet would be filed by December 10. The probe suggests that the singer was allegedly forced to take alcohol despite being disinclined. The chief minister said, “Some people allegedly made him drink alcohol as part of a conspiracy to loot him.”