Assam: Singer Zubeen Garg's last rites performed with full state honours
Guwahati (PTI): Singer Zubeen Garg's body was cremated with full state honours in the sylvan surroundings of Kamarkuchi on the outskirts of Assam's Guwahati on Tuesday amid chanting of Vedic hymns as thousands of mourners gathered to bid farewell to the popular crooner.
His sister Palme Borthakur and music composer Rahul Gautam, a protege of the singer, lit the pyre, amid gun salutes.
They went around the pyre seven times as priests guided them, and all present at the site, most with moist eyes, stood up to pay their last respect to the singer who mesmerised people with his more than 38,000 songs over three decades.
Zubeen's wife, Garima Saikia Garg, was sitting on the side of the platform where his last rites were performed, and was seen sobbing all through the rituals as the singer's friend and Union Minister Pabitra Margherita consoled her.
Garg's 85-year-old ailing father, Mohini Mohan Borthakur, was sitting at a distance surrounded by family members.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, also a Zubeen fan, was seen standing near the platform where the pyre was lit.
As the smoke from the flames flared up, slogans like 'Zubeen, Zubeen' and 'Jai Zubeen da' reverberated in the air, and people were heard singing his song 'Mayabini Ratir buku'.
This continued all through the rituals held in an emotionally charged atmosphere.
After the tributes were paid to the popular singer, the Assam Police gave him the gun salute and sounded the bugle.
Earlier, the mortal remains of Garg were taken to a platform and placed on the pyre amid chanting of Vedic hymns and blowing of conch shells.
The family performed certain Vedic rituals while Union ministers Sarbananda Sonowal, Kiren Rijiju and the chief minister placed wood on the pyre.
A branch of the sandalwood tree, which Zubeen had planted on his birthday in 2017, was placed on the pyre.
Earlier, the popular singer's body was brought on Sunday and kept at Arjun Bhogeswar Baruah Sports Complex for fans to pay homage.
After being brought to Kamarkuchi, his body was placed on a podium, next to the platform where his last rites were performed.
The funeral pyre, constructed on the platform, was covered in a white canopy and decorated with flowers all around it.
A team of Assam Police personnel were the pallbearers of the casket carrying Zubeen's mortal remains.
A large number of people gathered around the cremation site since Monday night, and the entire area reverberated with slogans like 'Long Live Zubeen', 'Jai Zubeen da'.
People were heard humming his song 'Mayabini Ratir buku', which the singer had once said should be sung at his funeral.
Members of the family, including his wife Garima, paid tributes to the singer at the cremation site.
Sonowal, Rijiju and Margherita, along with Sarma, assembly speaker Biswajit Daimary and several cabinet ministers and senior government officials, laid floral wreaths on the singer's coffin.
Sonowal, Margherita, the chief minister and leader of the opposition Debabrata Saikia went down on their knees to pay tributes to the singer.
Representatives of the Arunachal Pradesh government, Assam Sahitya Sabha (ASS), various students' unions, Hatimura Karbi Samaj, Artists Forum, Zubeen Garg Fan Club and others also paid their last respects to Garg.
Meanwhile, the second post-mortem examination of Garg's body was conducted at the Gauhati Medical College Hospital on Tuesday morning.
The first autopsy was conducted in Singapore, where he died on September 19 while swimming in the sea.
Earlier in the day, Garg's body, placed inside the cold glass coffin, draped in the traditional Assamese 'gamosa', was taken in a flower-bedecked ambulance from the sports complex to the cremation site.
A huge black and white portrait of the singer was placed in front of the vehicle.
Zubeen's last journey passed through Sarusajai, Beltola, Khanapara and Jorabat to reach Kamarkuchi. The singer's family, close relatives and a few friends followed him in separate vehicles.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Protest against demolition drive turns violent in Kolkata, 3 cops injured
Kolkata (PTI): A protest against the recent bulldozer action in Kolkata's Tiljala turned violent on Sunday as demonstrators hurled stones at police personnel in the minority-dominated Park Circus area, injuring at least three officials and damaging several vehicles.
The flare-up came days after bulldozers rolled into Tiljala as part of the West Bengal government's demolition drive against alleged illegal constructions following the factory fire that killed two persons earlier this week.
On Sunday afternoon, a large number of people gathered near Park Circus Seven Point Crossing to protest against the anti-encroachment drive and attempted to block roads, police said.
As police tried to disperse, what they described as an "unlawful assembly", a section of protesters allegedly resorted to stone-pelting, triggering chaos in the area.
Several vehicles parked along the roadside, including those carrying central forces, were vandalised, officials said.
Heavy deployment of Kolkata Police and central forces was made in the area after the clashes. Route marches and intensified patrolling were undertaken in adjoining localities to prevent further escalation and restore normalcy.
Kolkata Police Additional Commissioner Ashesh Biswas said action has already been initiated against those involved in the violence.
"Some people tried to block the road. It was an illegal gathering. The police were trying to disperse them, and there was pelting of stones. Three of our colleagues were injured," Biswas told reporters.
"We have already arrested a few people," he said.
The officer said police followed standard operating procedures, and efforts were underway to identify all those involved in the violence.
"There was an attack on the police. We will see who is behind it and arrest everyone. Strict legal action will be taken," he added.
While the police maintained the agitation was linked to administrative action against illegal buildings, some locals claimed that grievances over alleged restrictions on the use of loudspeakers during religious prayers and curbs on offering prayers on roads had also contributed to the tensions.
The developments come close on the heels of tension in Kolkata's Rajabazar area on Friday, where a standoff broke out after a group of people allegedly attempted to offer prayers on a public road despite restrictions on blocking traffic.
According to police sources, a large contingent of personnel reached the area and asked people to vacate the road, after which the situation turned tense briefly.
Members of the local community argued that holding Friday prayers on roads had been a long-standing practice in the locality, while the administration maintained that keeping roads clear was necessary for traffic movement and maintenance of law and order.
Police, however, did not indicate any direct connection between the Rajabazar incident and Sunday's violence in Park Circus.
Authorities also did not immediately disclose the number of persons arrested in Sunday's clashes or whether any protesters sustained injuries during the confrontation.
