‘Why are accused given vacation?’ Gogoi accuses BJP of cover-up in Zubeen probe

Guwahati, Sept 30: Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Gaurav Gogoi on Monday accused the BJP-led State government of attempting to divert the ongoing investigation into the death of heart-throb Zubeen Garg.

“This is not an investigation. This is a cover up which is going on. Otherwise, the two main persons who are accused, the manager and the event organizer, named by the Chief Minister himself… why are they being given vacation time? They are yet to be interrogated by the State police. The Chief Minister is saying on camera that due to Durga Puja he is not calling them. Why are they being treated as VIPs? Is it because the manager of Zubeen Garg has very close ties with the BJP leaders in Jorhat? Or is it because the event organizer, Shyamkanu Mahanta, has very close ties with BJP leaders in Delhi and Dispur?" Gogoi said during a press conference.

He further stated "If you dig a bit deeper, you will realize that Zubeen Garg’s manager was in close touch with Jorhat’s BJP leaders who were using the manager to get close to Zubeen Garg and through Zubeen Garg they wanted to get political mileage. And the other, Shyamkanu Mahanta... if you look at the past events of the North East India Festival, besides NDA Chief Ministers and BJP Central ministers, you will not see any other representation from any other party.” 

He added, “Is that the reason why the investigation is going in the reverse gear? State police personnel are arresting the supporters of Zubeen Garg. Police are beating up fans of Zubeen Garg. And the two main people who are named remain scot-free. They are allowed to tamper with evidence if they want to. They are allowed to coordinate among themselves if they want to. They are allowed to secure all forms of legal relief. And the police is remaining a mute spectator.”

He said that the APCC will start a ‘Justice for Zubeen Garg’ campaign across the State from October 3 to press for a proper investigation into the case and action against the accused. Under it, candlelight rallies and marches will be held in all parts of Assam.

“Till the time Himanta Biswa Sarma remains the Chief Minister of Assam, people of Assam will not know how Zubeen Garg died. Himanta Biswa Sarma will ensure that nothing comes on public record.”

“The second post-mortem conducted by the Assam government... even the details of that second post-mortem report are not being made public. People of Assam have read the report of the post-mortem conducted by the Singapore authorities. But the report of the second post-mortem in Assam remains a secret,” Gogoi added

By Staff Reporter