Assam: Trial of all 7 accused in Zubeen Garg death case begins in sessions court
Guwahati (PTI) The trial of the seven accused in the Zubeen Garg death case began on Monday in a court here, with all of them appearing virtually.
The Kamrup (Metro) District and Sessions Court, after examining the accused via video-conferencing, fixed the next date of hearing on January 3, 2026.
It will consider framing of charges on the date of the next hearing, a senior lawyer said.
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The court will call for their production, either in person or virtually, to ask them whether they plead guilty or will stand for trial in the case, he said.
Garg had gone to attend the North East India Festival (NEIF) in Singapore, where he died under mysterious circumstances while swimming in the sea on September 19.
The accused – NEIF chief organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, the singer's secretary Siddhartha Sharma, his cousin Sandipan Garg, and two personal security officers (PSOs) Nandeswar Bora and Paresh Baishya appeared from the Baksa Jail, while musician Shekharjyoti Goswami and singer Amritprava Mahanta were present online from Haflong Jail.
The celebrated singer's sister Palmee Borthakur was present in court during the hearing, and later told reporters that the family has full faith in the judiciary.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case had charged Mahanta, Sharma, Goswami and Amritprava with murder in the chargesheet filed before the Chief Judicial Magistrate on December 12.
The singer’s cousin and suspended Assam Police officer Sandipan Garg has been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, while the two PSOs were charged with criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust by misappropriating funds or property entrusted to them.
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Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
