Guwahati:Zubeen Garg’s wife, Garima Saikia Garg, said on Tuesday that the people of Assam have become a united voice for the late singer, and that they will settle for nothing short of punishment for the guilty. She made the remarks in a post on social media after protests in Guwahati demanding justice for the singer’s death led to mass detentions amid heavy police deployment.
The post, an emotional appeal, was addressed to the government as much as to the public. It has drawn a line between the questions ordinary people are asking and the legal machinery that has to answer them. “Zubeen Garg was the voice of the people, and that is why today the people too have become a united, powerful voice for Zubeen Garg,” she wrote.
She said those taking to the streets were not driven by politics. “These people understand nothing else; all they want is justice for their own boy. We feel the same. We understand nothing about politics, social policy, or complicated legal procedures. In Zubeen Garg’s own plain words, we only need to know what happened on September 19. Why did we lose the man dearest to us? All we want now is justice through punishment of the guilty, and not the slightest leniency will be acceptable,” she wrote.
Garima then turned to the case itself and referred to the Chief Minister’s statement that the singer’s death was a murder. “If, as the Honourable Chief Minister has announced, it is indeed murder, then the main offenders against whom the murder charge has been applied, according to the special SIT’s probe, can in no way be spared. Yet one woman among the main killers walked out into the open early and is now swaggering around freely,” she wrote.
She said the protests had come only after people’s patience wore thin. “Until now, everyone waited peacefully with great patience, and no disturbing situation was created. We believed with heart and soul that, apart from the criminal demons, every Assamese loves Zubeen and would do everything for him. But when faith is about to break, and when doubt arises that injustice is being done, protest is bound to rise in people’s minds,” she wrote.
She called the mood a wound to public trust. “This is the doubt in the mind of every Assamese: that our trust has been wounded,” she wrote.
“The language of protest must also be heard. And if everything is on the right path, then let them ensure justice, without any change over time. Let every guilty person receive the same strict punishment and treatment as a criminal, not the common people seeking justice,” Garg added.
Her words came as a human chain protest was carried out in front of the state secretariat in Dispur, called by Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi, which led to a large number of detentions and heavy deployment of police and paramilitary personnel. The protesters demanded justice for Zubeen Garg and questioned the progress of the case. Those held included advocate Anindita Das, who was admitted to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) after being injured in an alleged police beating.
The organisers have since sent a memorandum to the Chief Minister seeking a stop to bail for the remaining accused and a supplementary chargesheet backed by solid evidence. They have also asked the government to appeal to the Supreme Court against the Gauhati High Court’s decision to grant bail to Amritprabha Mahanta and Sandipan Garg.
Also Read: Detained Zubeen Protesters Defiant in Custody, Seek Bar on Bail and New Chargesheet