Guwahati

The Assam government’s decision to approach the Gauhati High Court for setting up a fast-track court to expedite the trial in the death case of celebrated singer Zubeen Garg was welcomed on Friday by his wife, Garima Saikia Garg.

Garima asserted that the family, along with the singer’s fans and well-wishers, wants the most stringent punishment for those responsible for his death.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said on Thursday that the state Cabinet decided to request the High Court for a fast-track court. He maintained that the move followed a request from Garg’s family, even though the government was satisfied with the existing court where the case is currently being heard.

Zubeen Garg died while swimming in the sea on September 19 last year in Singapore, where he had gone to attend the North East India Festival.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Assam Police’s CID probed the incident and later filed a charge sheet before a local court in Guwahati, naming seven accused.

Reacting to the Cabinet decision, Garima told reporters, “We seek that the case is taken forward in a watertight manner and the most stringent punishment is handed down to the accused. We hope that the judge will consider this a special case.”

“We don’t want any of the accused to get bail. No one who loved Zubeen Garg will want it,” she said, in an apparent reference to the chief minister’s earlier claim that there was a “design” by a media group and the Indian National Congress to influence the judicial process ahead of elections.

Garima maintained that the SIT’s “flawless enquiry” led to the identification of the culprits and the filing of the charge sheet. “The chief minister has said that the death was planned long ago, and the SIT has also said so. Everything is there; it only needs to be established in court, which is why we were asking for a special court,” she added.

Earlier, Sarma had claimed on February 22 that a “conspiracy” was underway around the public demand for a fast-track court in the case.

On February 16, Garima and Special Public Prosecutor Ziaul Kamar had expressed dissatisfaction over the slow pace of proceedings in the Kamrup Metropolitan District and Sessions Court, noting that the trial was yet to begin.

Among those facing murder charges are Shyamkanu Mahanta, chief organiser of the festival; the singer’s manager Siddharth Sharma; and band members Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amrit Prabha Mahanta. Garg’s cousin and suspended Assam Police DSP Sandipan Garg has been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

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The singer’s two personal security officers, Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya, are also in jail, charged with criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust.