Court rejects bail pleas of 3 accused in Zubeen death case

Guwahati: The Kamrup Metropolitan district and sessions court on Friday denied bail to Amritprabha Mahanta in the Zubeen Garg death case. The court also rejected the bail pleas of Zubeen’s personal security officers (PSOs) — Nandewar Borah and Paresh Baishya. The singer died in Singapore on Sept 19.

Sessions judge G Baruah said “the prosecution case reflects a prima-facie case against accused Amritprabha for conspiracy with prime accused in connection with this case and actively participating in the conspiracy which facilitated the death of Zubeen Garg”.


Amritprabha was slapped with murder charges by the state govt-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) and has been in jail since Oct.

The court stated that according to the prosecution, Amritprabha had encouraged Zubeen to consume more alcohol over two nights, “which is found fortified by the testimony of Tonmoy Phukan”. Phukan, a member of the Assam Association in Singapore, was also questioned by SIT. The court stated Phukan’s statement reflects that Amritprabha, a day after Zubeen’s death, requested Phukan through messages and phone calls not to inform Singapore Police that it was she who was staying with Zubeen during the last two days.

“The question that comes into mind is why she was not cooperating with Singapore Police by stating that she was the person who last resided with Zubeen. The act of Amritprabha reflects her culpable mental state so that she can be excused from the purview of investigation from Singapore Police,” the court stated. After taking into consideration the facts, the judge said, “This court is of the view that it is not a fit case to grant bail to accused Amritprabha at this stage. As such, the bail petition for the accused is rejected.”

On the other hand, the judge, while rejecting the bail pleas of the singer’s PSOs — Borah and Baishya — said the offence committed by the accused is “serious in nature which has ramification in the society”. “As such, this court is of the view that the accused persons are not entitled for bail at this stage,” he said.

Investigation had revealed that the PSOs allegedly misappropriated a huge amount of money from Zubeen.

Zubeen’s wife Garima Saikia Garg told reporters here, “I have complete faith in the judicial system. I am hopeful the culprits behind the untimely demise of Zubeen will face harsh punishment.”

The court has fixed Feb 13 as the next date of hearing.