Four of the seven arrested suspects in the death case of singer and Assam’s cultural icon Zubeen Garg have been charged with murder, and one, with culpable homicide not amounting to murder in a 12,000-page chargesheet filed on December 12 by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case. Zubeen died while swimming in Singapore on September 19. He had gone there to perform in the North East India Festival organised by Shyamkanu Mahanta.
Besides Shyamkanu Mahanta, the three others who will face murder trial are Zubeen’s manager, Siddharth Sharma, band member, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, and female singer, Amritprava Mahanta. The BNS sections applied to them are 103 (murder), 3 (common intention) and 61 (criminal conspiracy).
Zubeen’s cousin and suspended Assam Police Service officer Sandipan Garg has been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder (section 105). PSOs Nandeswar Bora and Paresh Baishya will be tried for criminal breach of trust (section 316) and criminal conspiracy (section 61).
The BJP-led government plans to petition the chief justice of Guwahati high court to set up a fast-track court for the trial.
The chargesheet includes statements of the seven suspects and the testimonies of around 300 witnesses.