People walk past a mural of late singer Zubeen Garg in Guwahati, on Monday.
Credit: PTI Photo
Guwahati: Amid continuous protests seeking justice into Zubeen Garg's death, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday stated that the iconic singer was murdered and the chargesheets into the case is likely to be submitted in the court on December 8.
"Today I will not refer to Zubeen Garg's death as a mishap. We require to file the chargesheet in Zubeen Garg's murder before December 17. I have given the target to submit the same by December 8. We are ready from all sides," Sarma told reporters in Guwahati after a government function.
Himanta said that he had apprised Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi about the status of the case and requested the MHA for giving clearance for submitting the charsgesheet pertaining to the case.
"If something happens abroad, before submitting the chargesheet, we require permission from the MHA. Yesterday (Sunday), I apprised the Home Minister as well so that we get the approval quickly. In the next three-four days, the SIT will write to the MHA seeking the approval. We will get the approval. Once we get the approval, we will file the chargesheet on December 8, 9 or 10," Sarma said.
Assam has been in mourning since Garg, the iconic singer, musician, actor and filmmaker, died while swimming in a sea following a yacht party in Singapore on September 19. He was 52. An SIT has been investigating into the case.
Initially, it was suspected to be an accident, but the case took a different turn when Garg's band mate, Sekhar Jyoti Goswami claimed that he was poisoned by his manager Siddharth Sharma and Shyamkanu Mahanta, the organiser of the Northeast India Festival. Garg was in Singapore to attend the festival as a cultural ambassador.
The SIT booked Sharma and Mahanta under murder charge. Seven persons have been arrested so far while the SIT questioned over 70 others for investigation into the case.
The public emotion and demand for justice grew on October 31, when Garg's last Assamese movie, Roi Roi Binale, was released across Assam. Many of his fans broke down as the movie was screened across all movie halls and multiplexes and tickets for the same have remained booked for the next two weeks.
Politics around the case also thickened with the Opposition parties including the Congress intensifying demand for investigation by the CBI.