A sessions court in Guwahati on January 30 rejected the bail plea of singer Amritprabha Mahanta, charged with murder by the government-appointed SIT in connection with singer Zubeen Garg’s death, saying that the prosecution’s argument “reflects a prima facie case against accused Amritprabha for conspiracy with prime accused in connection with this case and actively participating in the conspiracy which facilitated the death”. The court also rejected the bail pleas of both the personal security officers (PSOs) of Zubeen, viz. Nandewar Borah and Paresh Baishya. The next date of hearing is February 13.
Zubeen died in Singapore on September 19 last year. The court said that according to the prosecution, Amritprabha, who is in jail since October, had encouraged Zubeen to consume more alcohol over two nights, “which is found fortified by the testimony of Tonmoy Phukan”. Phukan, a member of the Assam Association in Singapore, was also interrogated by the SIT.
Rejecting the bail pleas of the singer’s two PSOs, the court said that their alleged offence was “serious in nature, which has ramification in society”. The PSO are alleged to have misappropriated a huge amount of money from the singer.