The quest for clarity in the tragic passing of Assam’s beloved “Heartthrob,” Zubeen Garg, took another heavy turn in a Guwahati courtroom this Wednesday. As the legal arguments unfolded, the focus remained on Shyamkanu Mahanta, the organizer of the North East India Festival, who is currently fighting for his freedom while facing the gravest of charges.
The hearing served as a poignant reminder of the void left by Garg, who passed away in September last year while attending a festival in Singapore. Now, seven months later, the legal gears are grinding through a case that has gripped the entire region.
Mahanta’s legal team, led by Rajdeep Banerjee and Pran Bora, made a straightforward plea for bail. Their core arguments rested on the fact that Mahanta has already spent over seven months behind bars. His lawyers insisted that he is not a flight risk and is fully prepared to assist investigators in uncovering the truth.
Special Public Prosecutor Ziaur Kamar stood firmly against the bail plea. He painted a picture of a case riddled with inconsistencies, specifically pointing to the supply of alcohol—a sensitive detail in the investigation.
While Mahanta claimed he sent an email advising against giving Garg alcohol, Kamar alleged that evidence suggests otherwise. According to the prosecution, records indicate Mahanta reportedly asked a local resident in Singapore to purchase a bottle for the singer. For Kamar, the time already served in jail cannot outweigh the gravity of these conflicting accounts.
A Wife’s Plea: “Innocent People are Behind Bars”
Outside the courtroom, the human element of the tragedy was palpable. Anita Deka Mahanta, Shyamkanu’s wife, broke her silence for the first time since his arrest. Her words were a mix of grief and defiance.
“Zubeen Garg always considered the festival as his own,” she told reporters. “His soul will be deeply hurt to see that the person he liked and worked closely with is now in jail.”
She defended her husband’s legacy, stating his only goal was to take Assamese culture to the global stage. She emphasized that at the time of the tragic accident in the sea, her husband was 50 km away in a meeting, and that the singer was staying in a top-tier hotel with medical facilities nearby. “Innocent people are behind bars for no fault of theirs,” she claimed, maintaining that the singer could never be forced into doing anything he didn’t want to do.
The legal landscape remains complex. Justice Sharmila Bhuyan has deferred Mahanta’s hearing until Thursday morning to allow his lawyers time to respond to the prosecution’s claims.
Meanwhile, the bail application for the singer’s manager, Siddhartha Sharma, remains in limbo as the judge requested his team to correct technical defects in their filing. With seven individuals currently in custody ranging from band members facing murder charges to security officials charged with criminal conspiracy the fast-track court faces a mountain of evidence as it seeks to determine what truly happened on that Singapore shore.
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