Zubeen Garg death case: Court unfreezes Shyamkanu Mahanta's bank account
What's the story
The Kamrup Metropolitan District and Sessions Court in Assam on Monday ordered the de-freezing of the bank account of Shyamkanu Mahanta, one of the accused in the singer Zubeen Garg's death case. The decision was taken due to "technical reasons," reported Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Ziaul Kamar. The court has also fixed March 19 for considering charge hearing in this high-profile case.
Emotional response
'Bad news for us': Garg's wife
As per Northeast Now, the bench observed that the freezing of Mahanta's account "had been carried out without adherence to statutory requirement." Garg's wife, Garima Saikia Garg, and the late singer's sister Palme Barthakur were present at the hearing. They expressed "disappointment" over the de-freezing of Mahanta's bank account. "It is bad news for us. It was ordered due to some procedural lapse and technical issue," she said.
Legal proceedings
Other important developments from hearing
The court also rejected a petition by another accused, Siddharth Sharma, who sought a copy of the Singapore Police's report in Garg's case. Kamar said that the Assam Police has already obtained all details, and the accused can access them for further examination from March 10 to 12. The court has ordered that Sharma's flat in Guwahati may be opened if he provides a bank surety of ₹16L to the police.
Case history
Know more about the case
Garg died on September 19 last year while swimming in the sea in Singapore during the North East India Festival (NEIF). The state police's CID Special Investigation Team (SIT) probed the case and submitted a charge sheet in December, which included murder charges against some accused. Besides Mahanta and Sharma, Garg's two band members Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amrit Prabha Mahanta, his cousin Sandipan Garg, and his PSOs Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya are also accused in the case.