Staff Reporter
Guwahati: In a major setback, Shyamkanu Mahanta, one of the accused in the Zubeen Garg death case and currently lodged at Baksa District Jail, didn't get relief from the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday.
The apex court refused to issue a ruling on his bail plea and instead fixed November 4 as the next date for hearing.
Speaking to the media, Assam's advocate general Devajit Lon Saikia said this was the third hearing of Mahanta's bail plea. He also mentioned that out of the 10 witnesses from Singapore in the case, the fast track court had examined the testimonies of eight.
He said the SC had been informed that testimonies of the remaining two witnesses from Singapore would be completed by October 12.
According to him, the SC fixed November 4 as the next date for hearing of Mahanta's bail plea "after hearing our argument".
He said the apex court had also been informed that trial was continuing in the fast track court on a day-to-day basis.
Noting that there were total 394 witnesses, Saikia was of the opinion that the testimony of all might not be required, "but we will examine some for material witness".
As the apex court had called for examining witnesses in a speedy manner, and based on the findings from examining the witnesses, he said facts will be shared with the SC through affidavits
Meanwhile, commenting on the status of the Zubeen's death case in the fast track court, special public prosecutor Ziaul Kamar said trial proceedings were continuing in a speedy manner.
He revealed that 122 prosecution witnesses had been examined so far, including nine non-resident Indians (NRIs) in the past 70-80 working days.
Altogether 86 FIRs were filed at various police stations across the state following the sudden and mysterious death of Assam's cultural icon Zubeen Garg in Singapore in September last year.
On the other hand, in a related development, Rupkamal Kalita from Singapore, who was one of the eyewitnesses during the Zubeen's last ride on the yacht, offered testimony at the special fast track court for Day-2 on Monday.
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