Zubeen Garg death probe: Musician Shekhar Jyoti Goswami in custody; organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta under scanner
Musician Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, who was on the yacht with Zubeen Garg when the singer died in Singapore, has been arrested. Meanwhile, event organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta is facing a ban in Assam.
The mystery surrounding the death of iconic Assamese singer Zubeen Garg deepens as musician and bandmate Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, who was allegedly present on the yacht with the singer before his death, was taken into custody on Thursday by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Assam police.
Another person under scrutiny is Shyamkanu Mahanta, the chief organiser of the Northeast India Festival, where Zubeen Garg was to perform in Singapore. In the wake of the incident, the Assam government has banned Mahanta from holding events or functions in the state.
Mahanta is the younger brother of former DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, who is currently the Chief Information Commissioner of Assam. His elder brother, Nani Gopal Mahanta, was previously Education Advisor to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma before becoming Vice Chancellor of Gauhati University.
SIT also conducted raids on Thursday at Mahanta's residence, as well as the home of Siddhartha Sharma, Zubeen Garg's manager.
Protests outside manager's residence
Tensions escalated outside Siddhartha Sharma's residence, where a group of people hurled stones at police vehicles. Security personnel responded with a mild lathi-charge, officials said, as per PTI.
The SIT team was visiting Sharma's residence as part of its probe into Zubeen Garg's death. Angry protestors demanded Sharma's immediate arrest, alleging his involvement in the singer's death. They also attempted to break open the main entrance gate of the apartment block, but were stopped by a heavy police presence.
As the SIT team were leaving the compound, the protestors again hurled stones at the vehicles and obstructed them. The police personnel on duty at the gate were also attacked. Two people have been detained for allegedly provoking the crowd to create disturbances in the area, an official said.
Ready for CBI probe: Assam govt
The Assam government has said it is ready for a CBI probe to be conducted into Zubeen Garg's death if the SIT investigation is found to be ''unsatisfactory''.
"I appeal to people to have faith in the SIT probe and not circulate rumours on social media which may hamper the investigations," CM Sarma said, as quoted by PTI.
(With PTI inputs)