Several people, including police personnel, were injured on Wednesday in Assam’s Mushalpur, when a mob clashed with police. The mob was protesting the shifting of five persons, arrested in connection with music icon Zubeen Garg's death, to the recently inaugurated Baksa Central Jail.
The incident occurred outside the Baska jail. The protestors attacked police vehicles with stones, smashing their glass panes. Some journalists were also hit by stones. Three vehicles belonging to the police were torched.
The police initially resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse the irate mob. When that did not work, they fired tear gas shells and blank shots. The district magistrate enforced prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS as the situation remained tense.
Earlier in the day, a large number of people had gathered outside the jail when the five arrested persons, North East India Festival (NEIF) organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, Garg’s manager Siddhartha Sharma, DSP cousin Sandipan Garg, and personal security officers Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya, were being taken there.
This occurred after the Kamrup Chief Judicial Magistrate remanded them to judicial custody at the end of their 14-day police custody.
When the vehicles neared the jail, the protestors attacked them with stones. Some of the protestors demanded that the accused be handed over to the public for “justice for Zubeen.”
However, despite the resistance, the vehicles managed to enter the jail premises. The protestors then attempted to breach the cordon, leading to scuffles with the police personnel deployed at the gates. The police dispersed the mob by using force. Authorities subsequently beefed up security in and around the jail.
The government had concerns about the safety of the arrested persons in judicial custody, considering that many fans of the late singer are in the jails. According to reports, the court had ordered keeping the accused at a jail with a smaller number of prisoners. The Baksa Central Jail, inaugurated in August, reportedly had no prisoners.
Following the unrest, the Assam government temporarily suspended mobile internet services across Baksa district.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday met Alice Cheng, the Acting High Commissioner of Singapore, in New Delhi in connection with investigation on Zubeen Garg's death.
Taking to X later, he posted, “In our meeting, I reiterated our request to the Singaporean authorities to extend their fullest cooperation to Assam Police, so we can realise our efforts to ensure #JusticeForZubeenGarg. We have been assured of all possible support in this matter.”
Himanta told journalists that ever since Garg’s death, a section of people had been continuously trying to destabilise Assam by conspiring to provoke the public.
“The incident today at Baksa is painful. In a civilised country like India, we should always repose our trust in the courts,” the chief minister said.
Garg had died under mysterious circumstances while swimming at a sea in Singapore on September 19. He had travelled to the country to take part in the NEIF. So far, seven persons have been arrested in connection with his death.
Earlier, the Assam Police sent a request under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty to Singapore through the Ministry of Home Affairs, seeking permission to conduct a probe there. The permission is still awaited.
