GUWAHATI: The All Assam Lawyers’ Association on Friday appealed to members of the legal fraternity not to represent individuals accused in the mysterious death of music legend Zubeen Garg.
In a statement, the association said Garg’s untimely demise while swimming in Singapore on September 19 had created an unbearable and unacceptable atmosphere in society.
“The death under mysterious circumstances has given rise to suspicion, mystery and a sense of conspiracy. FIRs have been lodged with the police across various parts of the state. It would be a historic mistake for the legal fraternity to allow their conscience to defend the accused,” the statement said.
A total of 55 FIRs have been registered against the 4th Northeast India Festival organiser, Shyamkanu Mahanta, Garg’s manager Siddharth Sarma, and others. Garg had travelled to Singapore to attend the festival.
On Friday, the Assam Police CID issued notices to individuals who were present or aware of the events leading to Garg’s death, asking them to appear within 10 days.
For the second consecutive day, CID and the Special Investigation Team (SIT) conducted a raid at Mahanta’s residence in Guwahati. They had also raided the houses of Sarma and Garg’s bandmate Shekhar Jyoti Goswami on Thursday. There is widespread public demand for the immediate arrest of all those responsible for the singer’s death.
The political party Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) launched a direct attack on Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over the incident.
AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi claimed that, judging by the investigation’s progress and Sarma’s statements, it appeared the Chief Minister did not want the probe to proceed in the right direction. He questioned whether there was any “fear of skeletons tumbling out of the closet” if the truth came to light.
“…Yesterday, the Chief Minister told the media that he disliked Shyamkanu Mahanta and that the government had no connection with his organisation. In response, Gogoi today presented 17 photographs to the press showing the Chief Minister with Shyamkanu Mahanta,” the AJP said in a statement, adding that some photos also showed ministers and police officials in Mahanta’s company.