Zubeen Garg death case: Murder charges framed against 4 accused
What's the story
A fast-track court in Guwahati has framed murder charges against four of the seven accused in the Zubeen Garg death case. The trial is scheduled to start on June 8. The court, under Justice Sharmila Bhuyan, also invoked additional charges against these accused persons. These include provisions related to common intention and participation in a crime by multiple persons, criminal conspiracy and, for Garg's cousin Sandipan Garg, culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Details
Charges framed after hearing arguments
Charges related to murder were framed on Tuesday against Garg's manager Siddhartha Sharma, Shyamkanu Mahanta, the organizer of the Singapore event, Garg's longtime bandmate Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, and fellow singer Amritprava Mahanta. The charge sheet filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Assam CID was also examined before framing charges. Special public prosecutor Ziaul Kamar said, "Today, the court presided over by Justice Sharmila Bhuyan framed charges against all the accused persons named in the chargesheet."
Legal proceedings
Additional charges invoked against accused
Additional charges were also invoked against the accused. Mahanta was charged under Sections 308 (extortion), 318 (cheating) and 238 (destruction of evidence). Sharma and Goswami were additionally charged under Section 316 (criminal breach of trust). Mahanta was booked under Section 238 for destruction of evidence. The court reserved its order on bail applications after hearing both sides.
Additional accused
Role of each accused to be examined
Sandipan was charged under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). Personal security officers Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya were charged under Sections 61 and 316. The public prosecutor confirmed that the applicability of each section and the alleged role of each person accused would be examined during the trial.
Investigation update
Singapore police had ruled out foul play, closed case
Garg, a cultural icon from Assam, died in Singapore on September 19, 2025. Initially, foul play was suspected but it was later ruled out and confirmed that he had accidentally drowned. A Coroner's court revealed that he was "severely intoxicated" and had drowned in the waters off Lazarus Island after refusing a life jacket. Singapore police closed the case in April.