GUWAHATI, June 11: Siddhartha Sarma, one of the accused in the Zubeen Garg death case and former manager of the late Assamese singer, has moved the Gauhati High Court seeking reopening of his firm, Mahabir Aqua, and defreezing of bank accounts linked to the establishment.
According to legal sources, Sarma filed a petition challenging an order of the Fast Track Court and sought multiple reliefs related to the ongoing criminal proceedings.
In his plea, Sarma requested permission to resume operations of Mahabir Aqua, which has remained closed following the investigation into the case. He also sought the release of bank accounts frozen by investigating agencies during the course of the probe.
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The petition further urged the High Court to consider findings and reports submitted by Singapore authorities regarding the death of Assamese music icon Zubeen Garg. Sarma reportedly argued that the conclusions of the foreign investigation should be taken into account during the judicial proceedings in Assam.
The development comes a week after the Gauhati High Court declined to entertain Sarma’s bail plea. On June 4, Justice Parthivjyoti Saikia did not admit the bail application for hearing, resulting in no substantive proceedings on the matter.
Sarma had approached the High Court after a Fast Track Court rejected his bail plea, citing the seriousness of the allegations and the ongoing investigation.
The case relates to the death of singer Zubeen Garg, who died on September 19 last year while swimming near Lazarus Island in Singapore, a day before he was scheduled to perform at an event organised under the North East International Festival (NEIF) banner.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Assam CID later investigated the case and filed a chargesheet against seven accused persons, including Sarma. While Singapore Police concluded that there was no evidence of foul play, Assam investigators have continued criminal proceedings based on evidence gathered during their investigation.
