Zubeen case: Gauhati HC denies bail to key accused

The Gauhati High Court on Friday rejected bail to Shyamkanu Mahanta, the prime accused in the Zubeen Garg death case, noting that there is a “risk of fleeing and tampering evidence.”

After hearing arguments from both sides, a single-judge bench of Justice Mitali Thakuria denied bail to the accused. On April 30, a special fast-track court had rejected bail to Mahanta, considering him as ‘flight risk’.

“The accused had challenged the trial court order of bail denial. The high court today rejected bail to Shyamkanu Mahanta after considering some crucial points,” Assam Advocate General Devajit Saikia said at a press conference here. The high court noted that Mahanta is a ‘flight risk’ and there is a possibility of him absconding from the ongoing trial, he said. “He had earlier erased all his mobile data.

The prosecution worked hard to retrieve those. So, the high court viewed that there is a chance of tampering the evidence by him,” Saikia said.

Besides, Mahanta is accused of also influencing his co-accused in the case, and the high court thought there is a chance of influencing the witness, too, Saikia said.

Shyamkanu is the younger brother of former DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, who was also the Chief Information Commissioner of the Assam State Information Commission. Gauhati University VC Nani Gopal Mahanta, who was the Education Advisor to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, is another elder brother of him.

On May 26, Special Fast-track Court Judge Sharmila Bhuyan framed charges against seven arrested accused in connection with the untimely demise of Assamese musician Zubeen Garg.

The celebrated singer died under mysterious circumstances in Singapore on September 19 last year while swimming in the sea. He had gone to Singapore to attend the 4th edition of the North East India Festival (NEIF).

NEIF chief organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, the singer’s manager Siddharth Sharma, his two band members Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amrit Prabha Mahanta, his cousin and Assam Police DSP Sandipan Garg, and his PSOs Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya are in jail as accused in the case.

Prime accused Shyamkanu Mahanta has been charged with eight different sections of the BNS, while seven charges were framed against Sharma.

Goswami and Amrit Prabha will face six charges each, Bora and Baishya will face two charges each, and Garg will defend himself against one charge.

They were booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for murder, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal conspiracy and causing death by negligence.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Assam Police probed Garg’s death case after more than 60 FIRs were lodged across the state.

However, the Singapore Police Force, which carried out a separate probe, concluded that there was no evidence of foul play in the case.

A Coroner’s Court in Singapore had also said that the popular Indian singer-songwriter was severely intoxicated, and had drowned off the Lazarus Island after declining a life jacket.

Authorities in Assam asserted that it would not impact the case here in any manner.