Daijiworld Media Network – Baksa

Baksa, Oct 15: A massive protest broke out in Assam’s Baksa district on Wednesday after five people arrested in connection with the death of popular singer Zubeen Garg in Singapore last month were shifted to the newly-constructed Baksa District Jail at Mushalpur.

According to sources, the situation outside the jail turned tense as angry fans of the late singer hurled stones and slippers, attempting to storm the premises. Protesters alleged that the state government was shielding the accused by transferring them to a prison with no inmates and modern amenities.

The five accused — North East India Festival (NEIF) chief organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, Zubeen’s manager Siddhartha Sharma, his cousin and police officer Sandipan Garg, and personal security officers Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya — were remanded to judicial custody by the Kamrup Chief Judicial Magistrate earlier on Wednesday.

Citing safety concerns, the court directed that they be lodged in a jail with fewer prisoners. Authorities accordingly shifted them to Baksa Jail, which was inaugurated only two months ago and remains unoccupied.

Mahanta and Sharma were arrested on October 1 in Delhi under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal conspiracy, and causing death by negligence — with murder charges later added.

DSP Sandipan Garg, who accompanied the singer to Singapore and was present on the yacht during his final moments, was arrested on October 8 and subsequently suspended from service. Zubeen’s PSOs were taken into custody on October 10, while band members Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amritprava Mahanta were earlier arrested on October 3.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has launched a separate probe against Mahanta over alleged financial irregularities, including organised money laundering and acquisition of large ‘benami’ properties.