Zubeen Garg death: 4 accused charged with murder in SIT chargesheet
Guwahati (PTI): A Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing into the death of singer Zubeen Garg, on Friday charged four accused with murder in its chargesheet filed in a Guwahati court.
The accused are Shyamkanu Mahanta, Siddhartha Sharma, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amritprava Mahanta, lawyers said.
Shyamkanu Mahanta was the chief organiser of the North East India Festival, which was attended by Garg in Singapore, where he died under mysterious circumstances while swimming in the sea on September 19.
Garg's cousin and suspended Assam Police officer Sandipan Garg has been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the over 3,500-page chargsheet submitted at the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court earlier in the day, the lawyers said.
The Assam government had constituted the SIT, led by Special DGP M P Gupta, to investigate into the singer's death.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had claimed in the recently concluded assembly session that Garg's death was ''plain and simple murder''.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF), carrying out an independent investigation into Garg's death, had said in a statement that preliminary probe has not indicated any foul play, and that the investigations may take up to another three months.
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Leadership tussle: High command has not called me to Delhi, says Siddaramaiah
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said he has not been called by the Congress high command to New Delhi, over the leadership issue.
There have been speculations that Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar will be called to the national capital, after the ongoing winter session of the state legislature, to discuss, amid the power tussle within the ruling Congress over the CM post.
"No one has called, unnecessarily you are asking. Have they (high command) told you? Then why are you unnecessarily asking whether the high command has called me on December 19?" Siddaramaiah told reporters in response to a question.
ALSO READ: Shivakumar will become CM after ongoing winter session of Karnataka legislature: Cong MLA
There were speculations about a change in chief minister when the Congress government reached the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20, as it was believed that there was a powersharing agreement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar after the grand old party won the Assembly election in 2023.
As the government crossed this crucial date, activities intensified in Congress, and both the CM and the Deputy CM met over breakfast at each other's residences, on the instructions of the high command. This was seen as a move to pause the leadership tussle between the two and to signal Siddaramaiah's continuation as the CM for the time being, especially ahead of the Belagavi legislature session.
