Baksa, India, October 17: Police in India’s northeastern state of Assam fired tear gas and resorted to baton charges on Wednesday after a mob hurled stones and torched vehicles outside a jail in Baksa district, where five people arrested in connection with the death of popular singer-composer Zubeen Garg were being shifted, officials said.
The violence broke out outside Baksa Central Jail in Mushalpur, about 95 km northwest of Guwahati, as protesters demanded that the accused be “handed over” to them. Several people, including police personnel and journalists, were injured, officials said.
District Commissioner Gautam Das imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), banning public gatherings and activities within 500 metres of the jail. Internet and mobile data services were suspended indefinitely in the area amid escalating tensions.
Police said the crowd turned violent when vehicles carrying the five accused arrived at the newly inaugurated Baksa jail, which was chosen for its low inmate population to ensure the prisoners’ safety. The accused include North East India Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, Garg’s manager Siddharth Sharma, his cousin and police officer Sandipan Garg, and his personal security officers Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya.
The mob pelted stones at the convoy, smashing vehicle windows and setting three vehicles — two of them police vans — on fire, before being dispersed by police using lathi charges, tear gas and blank shots.
Earlier in the day, a court in Guwahati remanded the five to judicial custody after their 14-day police custody ended. Two more accused — Garg’s bandmate Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and co-singer Amritprabha Mahanta — have also been arrested, taking the total number of arrests in the case to seven.
Garg, one of Assam’s most celebrated cultural icons, died in Singapore on September 19 while swimming off an island, hours before he was scheduled to perform at the North East India Festival.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma condemned the violence, saying “a section of people have been continuously trying to destabilise Assam by provoking Garg’s fans.” He urged the public to trust the judicial process.
Sarma also said he met Alice Cheng, the Acting High Commissioner of Singapore, in New Delhi on Wednesday, and sought continued cooperation from Singaporean authorities in the investigation. “We have been assured of all possible support in this matter,” he posted on X.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of ten officers is probing Garg’s death, and has questioned several people, including at least seven Singapore-based Assamese expatriates, officials said.
