Zubeen death probe

Even as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to probe into the unusual death of music maestro Zubeen Garg in Singapore last month is doing its job well, the Government of Assam on Friday announced the setting up of a judicial commission headed by Justice Soumitra Saikia of the Gauhati High Court to monitor the ongoing investigation into the Zubeen Garg case. As stated by Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, while a section of people are out to derail the investigation, the constitution of the Judicial Commission will provide a much-needed boost to take the investigations to a logical conclusion. What is also important to note is that while certain people have been making all kinds of comments and allegations on various social media platforms, the Chief Minister has pointed out that it is now the responsibility of those people to file affidavits with evidence before the Judicial Commission. Another section, on the other hand, has been making efforts to politicise the entire Zubeen Garg episode by raising issues intended at casting suspicion on the neutrality of the Assam Police in carrying out the investigation. It is also interesting to see that certain people who were often critical of Zubeen Garg and had posted adverse remarks on his musical creations have now turned into Zubeen fans. What is, however, a matter of concern is the way in which a section of people have been using various social media platforms – Facebook in particular – to make all kinds of remarks, comments and allegations, many of which contain derogatory and obscene content. As a number of self-appointed experts in criminology and law have also surfaced in the social media, one can simultaneously also find some claiming to provide almost real-time details of what has been going on during the SIT interrogation of the accused persons who have been taken into custody by the CID. Instead of helping the investigation or contributing towards positive and constructive discussions about the post-Zubeen situation, such posts are only creating confusion among the common people who are unbiased fans of Zubeen Garg and adding fuel to the gossip and rumour mongers. At this stage, it is important to let the Assam Police SIT do its assigned task without any hindrance whatsoever. Equally important is to stop making political remarks. And above all, it is also very important to let the family members of the departed soul stay in peace and maintain their much-needed privacy.