A massive protest broke out in Assam's Baksa district after five people, who were arrested in connection with the death of singer Zubeen Garg in Singapore last month, were shifted to a newly constructed prison on Wednesday. Several people were injured in clashes between protesters and the police, and two people suffered bullet injuries, sources said.
According to sources, the situation outside the Baksa district jail at Mushalpur remained tense as Garg's fans threw stones and slippers and apparently attempted to storm the premises. As the protesters blocked the entrance, police resorted to a baton charge, which triggered violence.
In the subsequent clashes between police and protesters, several journalists, police personnel, and fans of the singer sustained injuries and were admitted to the Baksa district hospital. Two people with bullet injuries were shifted to Guwahati, sources added.
The government has imposed prohibitory orders outside the Baksa jail and a total internet shutdown in Baksa district. Authorities have brought the situation under control, though tension remains high.
The fans, the sources added, were upset with the decision to send the accused to Baksa prison, a newly constructed facility with no inmates and several amenities. The state government is trying to protect the accused, they alleged.
North East India Festival (NEIF) chief organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, Zubeen's manager Siddhartha Sharma, his cousin and police officer Sandipan Garg and his personal security officers (PSOs) Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya were remanded in judicial custody by the Kamrup Chief Judicial Magistrate on Wednesday.
The court, expressing concern for their safety, also ruled that they should be sent to a jail where there were fewer prisoners. Accordingly, the authorities decided to shift all five accused to Baksa Jail at Mushalpur, which was inaugurated two months ago, and there are still no prisoners, an official said.
Mahanta and Sharma were arrested on October 1 in Delhi in connection with the singer's death in Singapore last month and were booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal conspiracy and causing death by negligence, with murder charges added later.
They were remanded in police custody for 14 days, which ended on Tuesday.
Zubeen Garg's cousin and Assam Police DSP Sandipan Garg was arrested on October 8 and remanded to seven days of police custody. Subsequently, Sandipan, who was serving as the in-charge of the co-district superintendent of police of Boko-Chaygaon in Kamrup district, was suspended.
The police officer had accompanied the singer to Singapore and was present on the yacht during Zubeen's last moments. The singer's PSOs were arrested on October 10 and were remanded to five-day police custody.
Two others - Zubeen's band members Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and singer Amritprava Mahanta - were arrested on October 3 and remanded in police custody for 14 days.
The Criminal Investigation Department has also initiated a separate probe against Mahanta for alleged organised financial crimes and "acquiring huge amounts of 'benami' properties by money laundering".
