GUWAHATI: The Assam Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Friday filed the charge sheet in the high-profile Zubeen Garg death case in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kamrup (Metro), slapping the charge of murder against four of the seven accused.
The over 12,000-page charge sheet was prepared after nearly three months of investigation during which the SIT had visited Singapore and recorded the statements of more than 300 people, including a few Singapore-based Assamese expats, in Guwahati.
The music icon Garg (52) had died mysteriously on September 19 while swimming in the sea in Singapore. He travelled to the country to perform at the fourth North East India Festival (NEIF).
Later, the SIT arrested seven persons – NEIF organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, Garg’s manager Siddharth Sharma, DSP cousin Sandipan Garg, personal security officers Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya, bandmate Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and singer Amritprabha Mahanta. All of them are now languishing in jail.
Briefing the media, SIT chief and Special DGP (CID) Munna Prasad Gupta said Sharma, Mahanta, Goswami and Amritprabha had been charged under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 103 (murder), 3 (common intention) and 61 (criminal conspiracy).
Additionally, BNS section 316 (criminal breach of trust) was slapped on Sharma and Goswami, and sections 308 (extortion), 318 (cheating) and 238 (destruction of evidence) against Mahanta. BNS section 238 was slapped also against Amritprabha.
Sandipan was charged under BNS section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) while Bora and Baishya were charged under BNS sections 61 and 316.
"The main charge sheet has around 2,500 pages but together with papers relating to digital evidence and other documents, the charge sheet will be of more than 12,000 pages," the SIT chief said.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said it was a “meticulously executed” investigation.
"Although we have taken documents from Singapore, we managed to crack the case with our independent documents. We have filed the charge sheet in such a way that the documents collected in Assam are sufficient to prove the charges," Sarma said.
Stating that the case is now in the court, he hoped that the court would deliver justice. He said the state government’s next step would be to approach the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court for a fast-track court for the trial of the case. He added that the government would appoint a special public prosecutor.
"Motive and criminal conspiracy have been clearly tracked. They have been examined by the Advocate General and our Director of Prosecution. Everyone is convinced that conviction is possible," Sarma further stated.
Recently, he told the Assembly that one person had murdered Garg and others cooperated. He categorically stated that it was a case of "plain and simple murder."
Meanwhile, Jorhat MP Gaurav Gogoi said the Congress was with the people who were demanding justice for Garg.
"The chief minister said time and again that Zubeen Garg was murdered. If he was murdered, there would be evidence in the charge sheet filed in the court. We will keep raising our voice till Zubeen Garg gets justice," Gogoi further stated.