Shyamkanu Mahanta, the organiser of the North East India festival (NEIF) and one of the main suspects in the high-profile murder case of singer Zubeen Garg, has applied to the Supreme Court requesting a change of venue in the ongoing investigation. Mahanta petitioned the court on September 30, asking that the investigation be transferred out of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Assam Police to a central agency, either the National Investigation Agency (NIA) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
He has also proposed that a retired Supreme Court judge should be hired to supervise the proceedings so that there would be transparency and fairness in the investigation. The petition also requests the petition to transfer the FIR, which is registered in Assam to a different state based on fears of impartiality in investigations.
Mahanta had also requested in the same petition that he be safeguarded in case of any stern action against him, yet he was arrested soon after he had filed the petition. His legal team said that the petition was being rewritten to capture current events in the case.
The untimely death of Zubeen Garg on September 19 in Singapore on the eve of his performance in NEIF has stirred up a lot of concern and attention. It was a festival organised by Mahanta, who aimed to ensure the cultural heritage of the northeast India was promoted. Civil society organisations, fans, and political entities have all demanded investigations into the facts of his untimely death to be conducted impartially and without favour.
In the meantime, the investigation has stepped up, and the Assam CID has amended the FIR with the addition of charges of murder. This was confirmed by Special DGP (CID) Munna Prasad Gupta, who is head of the 10-member SIT that is investigating the case. After Mahanta and Siddharth Sharma, the manager of Zubeen, were arrested, two other persons, including singer Amritprabha Mahanta and musician Shekhar Goswami, who were allegedly close associates of the late singer, were also arrested. The two were called to give a question on the 27th of September.
Click Here for Chhattisgarh News
Click Here for Entertainment News