Staff Reporter
Guwahati: Following the expiry of the deadline to appear before the SIT probing Zubeen Garg's mysterious death in Singapore, summonses have been issued afresh to the remaining 10 Singapore-based persons of Assamese origin, who are yet to respond. Only one person, Rupkamal Kalita, arrived here from Singapore and answered the questions put to him by the SIT for two days on Tuesday and Wednesday before returning back on Wednesday evening.
Responding to questions put to him by the media on Saturday, SIT head SDGP (CID) Munna Prasad Gupta said, "We are taking all steps according to the law to ensure the appearance of Singapore-based persons of Assamese origin who were part of the group on the yacht trip. They have to present themselves physically before the SIT and not through any video conferencing. We desire their appearance here and are positive that they will come. We gathered the names of 11 persons of Assamese origin in Singapore who were present during the yacht trip."
He went on to say, "The investigation is proceeding well. One question keeps cropping up constantly as to whether the SIT will go to Singapore and when. In this regard, I want to clarify that there are special provisions to go to Singapore, as it is a foreign country. According to international law, the police of one country cannot go to another for investigation. There is a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) between India and Singapore. So, we sent an appeal to Singapore, through the central government, to invoke MLAT soon after a case was registered in this regard. Through the MHA, we have requested the office of the attorney-general in Singapore to provide the details necessary, like statements and CCTV footage, to investigate Zubeen Garg's death. Our request is under consideration there. We will not get a visa to visit Singapore for the investigation into Zubeen's death. Any investigation has to be done legally with the help of Singapore Police and agencies concerned. We are in constant touch with the Indian High Commission in Singapore regarding invocation of the MLAT and cooperation of Singapore's agencies."
"We cannot conduct a place of occurrence (PO) or evidence-collecting visit to Singapore, which is the place of occurrence. Any evidence required for the investigation has to be done through a Mutual Legal Assistance Request, which has already been sent and is under consideration," SDGP Gupta added.
Meanwhile, the SIT has continued recording statements of different persons, and the statement of Zubeen's co-singer Shatabdi Bora was recorded today . Her statement will be placed in court on Monday.
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