Guwahati, June 4 (IANS) The Gauhati High Court on Thursday did not entertain the bail plea of Siddhartha Sarma, one of the prime accused in the high-profile death case involving Assamese singer Zubeen Garg, resulting in the scheduled hearing not taking place.

According to legal sources, the bail application filed by Sarma was not accepted for hearing by the Bench of Justice Parthivjyoti Saikia. As a result, no substantive hearing on the plea was conducted on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Chetan Dhiracharia, a business associate of Siddhartha Sarma, also approached the Gauhati High Court in connection with the case.

Details regarding the nature of his plea were not immediately available.

Sarma, who had served as the manager of Zubeen Garg, had earlier moved the High Court seeking bail after a Fast Track Court rejected his application.

The lower court had denied him relief citing the seriousness of the allegations and the ongoing investigation into the case.

The development comes days after the Gauhati High Court rejected the bail plea of festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, another key accused named in the case.

The High Court had then observed the gravity of the allegations and the crucial stage of the investigation while refusing to grant bail.

The case relates to the death of celebrated Assamese 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.

Following the incident, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the CID wing of Assam Police carried out an extensive probe and filed a chargesheet in December.

The chargesheet named seven accused people, with four facing murder charges. The case has generated widespread public attention across Assam, with supporters and family members of the singer demanding a thorough investigation under the campaign ‘Justice for Zubeen Garg’.

While a parallel investigation by Singapore Police concluded that there was no evidence of foul play in the singer’s death, Assam authorities have maintained that the findings of the foreign probe will not affect the ongoing investigation and trial in the state.

–IANS

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