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Zubeen Garg death probe: Five accused sent to judicial custody
The court sent accused Shyamkanu Mahanta, Siddharth Sharma, Sandipan Garg, Paresh Baishya and Nandeswar Bora to judicial custody after expiry of police remand
A Guwahati court on Wednesday sent five of the seven accused arrested in connection with the death of Assam singer Zubeen Garg in Singapore last month to judicial custody.
The court of chief judicial magistrate of Kamrup Metropolitan district, Baloram Kshetri, sent accused Shyamkanu Mahanta, Siddharth Sharma, Sandipan Garg, Paresh Baishya and Nandeswar Bora to judicial custody following expiry of their police remand.
All five accused have been sent to 14 days judicial custody. None of the five accused filed bail application in court. All five will be taken to a newly constructed prison in Baksa district located around 100km away from Guwahati.
Addressing media persons, government advocate Pradip Konwar said, "14 days of judicial custody has been granted from the CJM court, and 5 people will be sent to jail directly."
They were arrested earlier this month by the special investigation team (SIT) of Assam police’s criminal investigation department (CID) for their alleged involvement in Garg’s death on September 19 while swimming in the sea in Singapore.
Mahanta is organiser of an event in Singapore which Garg had gone to attend, Sharma is the singer’s manager and Sandipan, who is an Assam police officer, is also the cousin of Garg. Sharma and Sandipan were present at the scene when Garg died while Mahanta was also in Singapore in connection with the event, but was away when the incident happened.
Also Read: Assam: 2 more NRIs from Singapore join Zubeen Garg death probe
Two others, Baishya and Bora, are Assam police constables who were assigned for Garg’s security. They have been accused of mishandling the singer’s money through their bank accounts. Both have been placed under suspension following their arrests.
“Five accused were produced in court on Wednesday following expiry of their police remand. The police remand of Shyamkanu Mahanta and Siddharth Sharma, which was the maximum period of 14 days, is already over and they will be sent to judicial custody,” special DGP (CID) and head of the 10-member SIT, MP Gupta, told journalists.
Gupta said that the police remand of two more accused Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amritprava Mahanta, bandmate of Garg and a singer respectively (both were present at the scene of Garg’s death), will expire on September 17 and they will produced in court on that date.
He informed that two more Assamese NRIs from Singapore, Sushmita Goswami have arrived from Singapore and their statements are being recorded on Wednesday.
Another person from Singapore, Debojyoti Hazarika, will also reach later on Wednesday and his statement will also be taken.
Till Tuesday, seven of the 11 NRIs based in Singapore who had been issued notices by the CID have arrived in Guwahati and joined the probe. With three more recording statements on Wednesday, that figure has gone up to 11.
“The last one, Wajid Ahmed, who is a Singapore citizen (with origin in Assam), has not reached yet. He has also expressed his desire to come and record his statement. We are hopeful that it will happen soon”, Gupta said.
Gupta also informed that a post-mortem report which is circulating on social media platforms with the claim that it was of Garg’s, is not genuine.
“That report, which is circulating, doesn’t have any signature of doctors. The correct post-mortem report is with us. I request all not to spread fake information that can lead to misunderstanding among the public. We will take action against such persons,” he said.
Gupta informed that the CID got a mail from Singapore authorities on Tuesday (through the Indian high commission there) asking them about the police officials who would be visiting that country and the places they want to visit or evidence they seek to collect there in connection with the probe.
“We have already replied to that. It is a positive development, I am hopeful that we will get the green signal from Singapore soon so that our team can go there. Meanwhile, our investigation here is going on well and expected,” said Gupta.
Following the death of Garg while swimming in sea on September 19, the CID of Assam Police had registered a case of murder, criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide not amounting to murder and death due to negligence.
The incident had occurred during a yacht party arranged by some Assamese NRIs and 8 of them were present when Garg died while swimming at sea. The SIT had earlier issued summons to them and three other NRIs who were not present at the scene to come to Assam and assist the investigation.
Apart from the CID investigation in Assam, the Singapore authorities are also conducting a separate probe related to the case and have shared some information related to it with the Assam police.
Garg had gone to Singapore to take part in the North East India Festival (NEIF), an annual event showcasing the region’s culture. During his stay there, he joined a yacht party organised by a few Assamese NRIs in Singapore. It is while swimming in sea during the party that he collapsed and later was declared dead in a hospital.
The CID is also probing a case of financial irregularities allegedly committed by Mahanta. After days of questioning the agency also arrested two of Garg’s PSOs, Paresh Baishya and Nandeswar Bora, (both not present in Singapore at the time of Garg’s death) for alleged mishandling of the singer’s money, which was in their bank accounts.
