GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday vowed that his government will ensure justice in the case of music legend Zubeen Garg, who died under mysterious circumstances while swimming in Singapore on 19 September, and invited voters to hold the government to account at next year’s Assembly elections if it fails.
“Keep faith in our government. We will ensure that justice is delivered in the case. If we fail, punish us. But don’t use people’s grief to fuel rumours and misinformation,” Mr Sarma said in a video message to the public.
He said people are demanding justice for Garg and that he stood with them. “It is my duty as the Chief Minister of Assam to ensure that all those who are responsible for the death face the law. I will carry out this duty diligently. The law will take its own course. It will spare no one.”
Mr Sarma also asserted that his government would answer to the people of Assam rather than to Garg’s manager, Siddharth Sarma, or the 4th Northeast India Festival organiser, Shaymkanu Mahanta. Garg had travelled to Singapore to attend the festival, which was cancelled after his death.
The Chief Minister asked the two accused to appear before the Criminal Investigation Department of the Assam Police, and said it would not be appropriate for them to seek anticipatory bail in court given the stature of Garg as an Assam “national treasure”.
A total of 55 FIRs (first information reports) have been lodged with the police in connection with the singer’s death.
Meanwhile, Assam Police on Saturday issued lookout notices against Mr Mahanta and Mr Siddharth Sarma, who are reportedly absconding; the notices bar them from leaving India via any airport, seaport or land border, the Chief Minister added.
“This is Zubeen’s Assam. This is our motherland. We cannot allow this to become Nepal,” he said, referring to comparisons circulating on social media. “If we harm a single asset of Assam, Zubeen will be hurt the most.”