GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said his government would bring to the notice of the Supreme Court and the Gauhati High Court threats issued by a group to gherao his residence if bail was granted to two prime accused in the Zubeen Garg death case.
Garg, 52, died while swimming near Lazarus Island in Singapore on September 19 last year. He had travelled to the country to attend the fourth edition of the North East India Festival (NEIF).
The Supreme Court will hear the bail petitions of prime accused Shyamkanu Mahanta, the chief organiser of the NEIF, and Garg's manager, Siddhartha Sharma, on November 30.
Stating that the Assam government respects court orders, Sarma said those questioning him and his government over the bail granted to an accused in the case were attempting to create disturbances in the state.
The Gauhati High Court had granted bail to singer Amritprabha on October 9. Garg's cousin, DSP Sandipan, who is also an accused in the case, has also been granted bail.
On Amritprabha's bail, Sarma said that although 160 witnesses had named her during the investigation conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), none of them had mentioned her during the court proceedings. He asked critics to question the witnesses rather than him.
He described the threats issued by an MLA-led group to gherao his residence if Mahanta and Sharma were granted bail as a "serious matter".
"They will not stage the dharna at the District Commissioner's office or the state Secretariat, but at the Chief Minister's residence. The idea is that people come and pelt stones to kill my son, daughter or me," Sarma said.
"Nowadays, dharnas are staged at the gates used by the family members of ministers to enter and leave their residences. There will be a hundred people at the site of a dharna. What if somebody from the crowd pelts a stone? Many in Bangladesh and Pakistan are against me. Some people dislike me for eviction drives and for working against fundamentalist elements," the Chief Minister said.
He further said that he had already instructed the Legal Department to bring the matter to the notice of the Supreme Court and the Gauhati High Court.
"If an MLA can say that he will agitate over a Supreme Court judgment, then he should not remain an MLA because he does not believe in democracy," Sarma said, without naming anyone.
