The family of late singer Zubeen Garg has expressed dismay and held a peaceful protest on Monday against the bail granted by Gauhati high court to his bandmate, who is one of the seven accused facing trial for the alleged murder of the 52-year-old.
The high court on Friday granted bail to band member Amritprava Mahanta. The cultural icon died under mysterious circumstances on September 19 last year while swimming in the sea in Singapore.
"We waited for a year with the faith of getting justice and our chief minister had also maintained that Garg was murdered and those responsible will be dealt with adequately," Garg's wife, Garrima Saikia Garg, told journalists at the singer-cum-composer's memorial place on the outskirts of Guwahati.
"We were told that the chargesheet filed in the case after a detailed investigation was leak-proof. Then how come one of the prime accused in the case who has been charged with murder managed to get bail from the high court? This is likely to weaken the case,” she added.
Following the high court order, hundreds of Garg's fans gathered at the memorial place located at Sonapur where Garrima Saikia appealed to all for a peaceful demonstration and to get united for justice.
"If those accused in the case get bail, what does it say about the investigation? Won't such people coming out of jail pose a threat to our lives? If someone of Garg's stature fails to get justice, what more can we expect," she said.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that it won't be proper to comment on a decision taken by the judiciary when the case is sub-judice.
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"As a government, we can't comment on the orders passed by the high court or the Supreme Court. But judging by how the trial of the case is progressing in a fast track court on a daily basis for close to a year now, we are hopeful of a good outcome," he said on Monday.
Garg’s death last year had sparked a statewide demand for a thorough probe into the matter. A special investigation team (SIT) constituted later said Garg was murdered as part of a planned conspiracy.
Besides Mahanta, six people – Garg's manager, the organiser of the event in Singapore which the singer had gone to attend, another bandmate, Garg's cousin and two security officers – were arrested in the case. All of them are currently in jail.
Last month, a special court granted bail to the two security officers in a separate disproportionate assets case. They continued to remain in prison for their alleged role in Garg's death.