The Kamrup Metropolitan District and Sessions Court is scheduled to hear and decide the bail petitions of three accused in the Zubeen Garg death case on Friday, January 30. The order on the bail pleas is expected later in the day, according to court officials.The court is considering the bail applications of singer Amritprabha Mahanta and two personal security officers of the late singer—Paresh Baishya and Nandeshwar Bora. All three are accused in connection with the case and are currently in judicial custody.Earlier, during a hearing held on January 22, two other accused—Shyamkanu Mahanta, director of the North East India Festival, and Sandipan Garg, a cousin of the late singer—had withdrawn their bail petitions. Shyamkanu Mahanta has been charged with murder, while Sandipan Garg faces charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.Two more accused named in the case—Siddhartha Sharma, who served as Zubeen Garg’s secretary, and Shekhar Jyoti Goswami—have not applied for bail so far, officials said.
During the previous hearing, the accused persons appeared before the court through video conferencing. Meanwhile, Zubeen Garg’s wife Garima Garg and his sister Palmee Borthakur were present in court. Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, Garima said the prosecution had strongly opposed the bail pleas and expressed satisfaction with the arguments presented by the state.Zubeen Garg died under mysterious circumstances on September 19 last year while attending the North East India Festival in Singapore. He was reported to have drowned while swimming in the sea. The incident led to widespread public concern and demands for a thorough investigation in Assam.Following the public outcry, the Assam government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which filed its chargesheet on December 12.
According to the SIT, Shyamkanu Mahanta, Siddhartha Sharma, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amritprabha Mahanta have been charged with murder. Sandipan Garg has been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, while the two PSOs have been charged with criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust. Earlier, the state cabinet also appointed a five-member team of special public prosecutors to handle the case, led by senior advocate Ziaul Kamar. The case continues to attract wide attention across Assam as the court prepares to deliver its decision on the bail pleas later today.