Zubeen Garg death case: Court proceedings begin, 7 accused appear virtually

SILCHAR: The formal juridic treat in the dying caseful of the tell’s cultural icon Zubeen Garg commenced on Tuesday, marking the first court hearing after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Assam Police submitted a detailed charge sheet.The seven accused, who are lodged in Baksa and Haflong jails on murder charges related to the singer’s death, were produced before the Kamrup Metropolitan Chief Judicial Magistrate Court via video conference. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) told the court that it could not produce them in person due to law-and-order and security concerns.Public prosecutor Pradip Konwar said the hearing was primarily procedural and focused on the formal supply of case documents. The seven accused were served with copies of the charge sheet and provided with pen drives containing the case materials to facilitate legal consultation.The court fixed the next hearing for December 22, when the case is expected to be committed to the sessions court, the required step before a full-scale trial can begin.“To facilitate proper legal consultation, pen drives containing copies of the entire case materials were provided. The court also enquired whether the accused had received the documents and asked about their health and well-being,” Konwar told reporters after the hearing.While the December 22 hearing may also be conducted via video conferencing, the court indicated that the mode of appearance would change once the charges are formally framed.“After the framing of charges for murder and other offences, the accused will be required to appear physically before the court, as their signatures will be mandatory at that stage. However, there is provision for exceptions,” Konwar said.Guwahati Bar Association members had announced, following Garg’s death, that they would not represent any of the accused in this case.During Tuesday’s proceedings, the court recorded the presence of a defence counsel, advocate Dhrubajyoti Das, who was appointed by the District Legal Services Authority to represent the accused.Zubeen Garg died under mysterious circumstances on September 19 while swimming in the sea in Singapore, where he had travelled to perform at the Northeast India Festival.Assam Police registered a murder case and arrested seven individuals between October 1 and 10, including Northeast India Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, manager Siddharth Sharma, musicians Amritprabha Mahanta and Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, Zubeen’s cousin Sandipan Garg, and the singer’s personal security officers Paresh Baishya and Nandeshwar Bora.The death triggered widespread public anguish and demands for a thorough and transparent investigation, leading to the constitution of the SIT. The accused were earlier produced before a Guwahati court and remanded to judicial custody, which has since been extended multiple times.