Zubeen Garg case: Chargesheets accuses four of murder, SIT mum on motive

The case has turned into an issue for the political parties gearing up for the Assembly elections slated early next year.

Guwahati:  The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing cultural icon Zubeen Garg's death case have charged four accused of murder in its charge sheets but refused to reveal the motive behind the crime.  

The SIT, headed by Munna Prasad Gupta, a special DG in Assam CID, filed the chargesheets containing over 2,500 pages (over 12,000 pages including the enclosures) before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kamrup (Metro), in Guwahati on Friday morning.  

Gupta later told the media that the four accused, Zubeen's manager Siddharth Sharma, organiser of Northeast India Festival in Singapore, Shyamkanu Mahanta, two bandmates: Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amritprabha Mahanta, a female singer, have been charged under section 103 (murder) and section 106 of BNS (causing death by negligence), beside other sections.

Shyamkanu and Amritpraba have also been charged with destruction of evidence.  Zubeen’s cousin Sandipan Garg, a police officer, has been charged under section 105 BNS (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). 

Charges of criminal breach of trust under Section 316 BNS have been imposed on Shyamkanu, Siddharth and Zubeen's PSOs Nandeswar Bora and Paresh Baishya. 

When asked about the motive behind the alleged murder, Gupta said, "We have submitted all those details in the court and it will not be proper to talk about those here."

CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also spoke to the media later in the evening, also did not say anything on the motive behind the crime. "We are confident that the evidence gathered by the SIT is sufficient to prove the charges."   

Death of the icon

Life across Assam came to a standstill after Garg, an iconic singer, musician, film-maker, actor and a philanthropist, suddenly died on September 19 during an outing on a sea in Singapore. Garg was swimming after a yacht party organised by Singapore-based Assamese NRIs. Garg, 52, was in Singapore to attend the Northeast India Festival as a "cultural ambassador." 

The SIT have arrested seven persons and questioned over 300 people including his family members, friends, band mates, fans, Assamese NRIs in Singapore, beside others during the investigation. 

Although initially it was suspected to be a mishap, CM Sarma claimed several times that it was murder case. On November 25, Sarma was direct when he told the Assembly that Garg was killed by one of the accused and others helped in committing the crime. "It was a simple, plain murder case. The chargesheets will shock everyone," Sarma said in the House. 

Politics around death

The Opposition Congress and others, however, have been demanding a CBI inquiry into the incident. Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi recently demanded that the Union Ministry of External Affairs should also be brought under the ambit of the investigation as the Northeast India Festival was supported by the Ministry. His fans launched a campaign, both online and on the streets, demanding justice for his family and fans. 

The case, however, has turned into an issue for the political parties gearing up for the Assembly elections slated early next year. The ruling BJP, which is eyeing its third term, is under pressure as Garg's death and the manner the case is handled is likely to dominate the election campaigns. 

Timeline: 

September 19: Zubeen died while swimming in the sea in Singapore during a yacht party.

September 21: Mortal remains reach Guwahati amid crowds of lakhs of his fans. 

September 23: Second post-mortem done hours before cremation following demand by fans. 

September 25: Assam government forms a nine-member SIT headed by special DG, CID. 

October 2: Zubeen's manager Siddharth Sharma and Shyamkanu Mahanta, organiser of Northeast India Festival in Singapore, arrested in Delhi following return. Murder charge added.

October 3: Zubeen's band mates, musician Sekhar Jyoti Goswami and female singer Amritprabha Mahanta arrested. 

October 4: Goswami alleges Zubeen was poisoned by Sharma and Mahanta in Singapore. 

October 8: Zubeen's cousin brother Sandipan, a police officer, arrested by SIT.

October 10: Zubeen's two PSOs arrested after transactions worth over Rs. one crore detected in their bank accounts. 

October 17: Singapore police said based on preliminary investigation, no foul play was suspected in the incident. 

November 25: Assam CM said Zubeen's case was a "simple, plain murder" case.