Guwahati, March 20 The prosecution completed its arguments during the charge framing process before a local court here in the Zubeen Garg death case, the deceased singer's wife said.
Speaking to reporters after attending the hearing, Garima Saikia Garg said, "On the second day of the charge framing hearing, the prosecution completed its arguments. The lawyer for one of the accused, Amrit Prabha Mahanta, presented half of his arguments."
Amrit Prabha's lawyer will conclude his arguments on the next hearing date, when the other defense lawyers will also present their arguments, she added.
The Kamrup Metropolitan District and Sessions Court, which is hearing the case, has set the next hearing date for March 30.
The 52-year-old singer died while swimming in the sea on September 19 last year in Singapore, where he had gone to attend the fourth North East India Festival (NEIF).
Acting on a request from the state government, the Gauhati High Court has ordered the establishment of a dedicated fast-track sessions court to conduct daily trial proceedings in the case, nominating District Judge of Baksa, Sharmila Bhuyan, to preside over it.
Until the dedicated court becomes operational, the current court hearing the case will conduct hearings on a daily basis, the High Court had said.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Assam Police's CID had investigated the singer's death and filed its charge sheet before a local court here in December.
A five-member special public prosecutors' team had been appointed earlier by the government for the case.
Shyamkanu Mahanta, the chief organizer of NEIF, the singer's manager Siddharth Sharma, and his two band members, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amrit Prabha Mahanta, are facing murder charges, while his cousin and suspended Assam Police DSP Sandipan Garg is charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Garg's two personal security officers, Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya, are also in jail, charged with criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust for misappropriating funds or property entrusted to them.
A separate inquiry is also underway by local authorities in Singapore, with a coroner's court recently ruling out foul play and stating that Garg was severely intoxicated and drowned after declining a life jacket on Lazarus Island.
