Guwahati: Heavy Police Presence, Mass Detentions as Raijor Dal Seeks Justice for Zubeen

New Update

Guwahati: Heavy deployment of police and paramilitary personnel and a large number of detentions marked a protest in Dispur on Tuesday, October 20, as Akhil Gogoi’s Raijor Dal demanded justice for the late singer and musician Zubeen Garg. 

Several protesters, including leaders of the party, were taken away in buses even before they could form the proposed human chains to protest in front of the state secretariat.

Security forces had taken positions around the secretariat since morning. Protesters of all ages arrived in large numbers carrying placards that spelt out their demand for justice. As the crowd swelled, some climbed on top of buses while officials worked to bring the situation under control. So many people were detained that several buses were packed with detainees.

Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) general secretary Bidyut Saikia was among those held. As officials led him away, he turned his questions on the Chief Minister and made a direct allegation against Union minister Pabitra Margherita. “Who is the killer, and who are the accomplices? What secret is Himanta Biswa Sarma hiding? Pabitra Margherita is associated with the death of Zubeen Garg,” he said.

Raijor Dal leader Vedanta Laskar was also among those detained.

The protesters made it clear that Tuesday would not be the end of the agitation. “The protests have just begun today and will continue indefinitely until Zubeen Da gets justice,” visual artist Marshall Baruah said.

Meanwhile, Raijor Dal leader Rakesh Chakraborty questioned the progress of the case and the charge sheet in particular. “Himanta Biswa Sarma himself told the Assembly that one person killed him and four others were involved. Now we see the accused in the case getting bail, one after another. What kind of charge sheet was this? Akhil Gogoi had said the charge sheet should be thrown into the dustbin. What sort of charge sheet did Rosie Kalita and Munna Prasad Gupta prepare? Himanta Biswa Sarma must answer this,” he said.

Gyanashree Bora, who was also detained during the protest, said the scale of the security arrangements stood in sharp contrast to the official response to the singer’s death. “In a democratic country, this is the police deployment against our call for a human chain, while the response to Zubeen Garg’s death itself was feeble. We did not see the police rushing like this to Singapore to probe the incident. Had the SIT probed the case thoroughly, we would not have needed to protest today. We demand justice,” she said.

The detentions left some demonstrators angry over how they were treated. An elderly man who was also taken away said he had come only to ask for justice. “I came out to demand justice for Zubeen Da, but the treatment I received was inhumane. Are they the only humans? Are we not humans?” he asked.