Guwahati, May 26: One of the principal accused in the widely discussed Zubeen Garg case, Siddhartha Sharma, filed a bail application on May 26 amid continuing legal proceedings in the matter.
The development comes shortly after a Special Fast Track Court in Assam framed charges against the accused under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including offences related to murder, culpable homicide, criminal conspiracy, extortion and cheating.
The order was delivered by the Special Fast Track Court headed by Judge Sharmila Bhuyan in the case titled State vs Siddhartha Sharma and six others. The court framed charges under Sections 3(6), 3(7), 3(8), 61(2), 103(1), 105, 238, 308(2), 318(4) and 316(5) of the BNS.
Besides Siddhartha Sharma, the other accused in the case are Shyam Kanu Mahanta, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, Amrit Prava Mahanta, Sandipon Garg, Nandeswar Borah and Paresh Baishya.
According to court records, the charges involve allegations including criminal conspiracy, murder, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, extortion, cheating, criminal breach of trust and causing disappearance of evidence. The charges invoked vary according to the alleged role attributed to each accused individual.
With the framing of charges completed, the matter is set to proceed for trial before the Special Fast Track Court.
Meanwhile, the case also figured in discussions during the Assam Assembly on May 26, where Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma alleged that sections of the opposition had attempted to use Zubeen Garg as a political issue during elections. Referring to the controversy surrounding the terms “Mayabini” and “Dayabini”, the chief minister described the singer as “an asset of the Assamese people” and claimed that political groups which had criticised him earlier later attempted to invoke his legacy for political purposes.
