Staff Reporter
Guwahati: In the investigation into cultural icon Zubeen Garg’s death, the CID has now slapped another section of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on the accused persons. In the case no. 18/2025, filed into Zubeen’s death, BNS sections 61 (2), 105, and 106 (1) were already applied. Now Section 103 of BNS, which criminalizes murder and outlines punishments, has been added.
In another development, musician Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and artiste Amritprabha Mahanta were arrested on Thursday. The duo had been part of the entourage that went to Singapore to perform with Zubeen in the Northeast India Festival.
Earlier, on Wednesday, festival organizer Shyamkanu Mahanta and Zubeen’s manager Siddharth Sharma were arrested. Shyamkanu was stated to have been apprehended by the immigration authorities at IGI airport in New Delhi after he disembarked from a flight from Singapore. Siddharth was reportedly apprehended on the Delhi-Haryana border after the police tracked his movements to that area.
It needs to be mentioned that Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) criminalizes murder and outlines punishments, including the death penalty or life imprisonment and a fine. This provision applies when a group of five or more individuals acts in concert to commit murder. The murder must be motivated by discriminatory grounds like race, caste, community, sex, language, personal belief, or other similar factors. Each member of the group is held equally liable for the offense, with the same potential punishments of death, life imprisonment, and a fine.
Since their arrest and subsequent 14-day custody by the CID, the marathon grilling of Shyamkanu Mahanta and Siddharth Sharma has been going on. Zubeen’s cousin and DSP Sandipan Garg was interrogated for the second time today.
Meanwhile, three persons connected with the Northeast Festival—Nayanjyoti Das, Deepjyoti Roy and Raktim Roy—were summoned by the SIT today.
The SIT is questioning the people connected with Zubeen’s death to determine what happened on the night of September 18 in Singapore. Also, as to who organized the yacht trip and what exactly happened on September 19, the fateful day when Zubeen met an untimely death
It was also revealed that, along with Zubeen’s phone, which was found with Siddharth, some documents and medicines were also found, among other things, in a bag said to belong to Zubeen. SIT will now conduct tests on the items.
SIT head SDGP (CID) Munna Prasad Gupta today told the media, “Interrogation of Shyamkanu Mahanta and Siddharth Sharma has been continuing since yesterday. I can only say that much as interrogation and investigation is going on. Section 103 of BNS has been added to the other charges. Nothing more can be said about this. Singapore authorities say the report of the autopsy done there will be shared with the victim’s family; it will not be made public. We are awaiting the results of the post-mortem done here. The viscera was sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, New Delhi. It will take a few days. Once the report arrives, we will get the post-mortem report. We are conducting the investigation and interrogation of all suspects. Our request for invoking the MLAT with Singapore has been received there, and it is under process.”
According to reports, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) on Wednesday provided the High Commission of India in Singapore with the autopsy report of Zubeen Garg, along with preliminary findings into the death of the much-loved cultural icon of Assam.
There has been a call by the people that no kind of VIP treatment should be extended to Shyamkanu and Siddharth and that they should not escape the clutches of the law through any loophole.
Shyamkanu’s wife reportedly tried to bring him some home-cooked food, but it was not allowed.
Also Read: SIT on Zubeen Garg’s Demise Should Ensure Unbiased Probe: Ripun Bora
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