Guwahati, Oct 14: For the first time since securing bail, Amritprava Mahanta, one of the accused in the case relating to the death of Assam’s cultural icon Zubeen Garg, spoke to the media on Wednesday, recounting the events preceding the artiste’s death.
Mahanta said she had not noticed anything unusual about Garg’s health on the day of the incident in Singapore, adding that he had appeared happy before going swimming.
“Why it happened, how it happened, I have come to the thinking that it was his destiny. Everyone in the team was concerned about his medicines. He had asked me to remind him to take them,” she said.
She added that she would ask Garg whether he had taken his medication whenever they met. However, she said he usually took the medicines at night, while the incident occurred in the afternoon.
Mahanta maintained that Garg had shown no apparent signs of ill health before the incident.
“If we notice something about his health, we can sense it, but that day I did not feel anything. I saw him happy. Zubeen da took us swimming of his own will, and I respected whatever he said. I never raised my voice over what Zubeen da wanted to do, and I was a new member of the team,” she said.
She also denied meeting Shyamkanu Mahanta, another accused in the case, around the time of the incident. Recalling the confusion after Garg was taken to hospital, she said she was at the port, where police were also present.
“At that time, I could not even process what was happening. Zubeen da had been taken to the hospital, I was receiving thousands of calls, and the police were recording statements,” she said.
Mahanta added that Garg had informed the team a day before the yacht trip about their departure time.
Asked about her communication with Garg’s wife, Garima Saikia Garg, she said they had spoken briefly on Tuesday.
“I had a little chat with her yesterday. I asked her how she was. She was not in a position to have a long conversation with me, and then the call got disconnected,” she said.
Mahanta appeared in court on Wednesday accompanied by her lawyer, Anand Kumar Bhuyan, who confronted journalists as they attempted to record visuals and seek her reaction.
The Gauhati High Court granted Mahanta bail on October 9 after hearings on her plea. She walked out of Haflong sub-jail on Tuesday after spending more than a year in custody.
The bail order does not end the proceedings against her, and she will continue to face trial.
Her release prompted a peaceful protest by Garg’s family members, fans and fellow musicians at Zubeen Kshetra in Sonapur on October 12, with participants demanding justice for the late singer.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has deferred further hearing on the bail plea of another accused, Shyamkanu Mahanta, until November 4. The bail plea of Siddharth Sharma, also an accused in the case, was listed before the apex court.
The fast-track trial is underway. According to reports published earlier this week, 124 prosecution witnesses had been examined by October 12.
Charges have been framed against all seven accused, with murder charges against four of them, namely Shyamkanu Mahanta, Siddharth Sharma, Shekharjyoti Goswami and Amritprava Mahanta.