Guwahati, Apr 22 The bail application of Shyamkanu Mahanta, a key accused in singer Zubeen Garg's death case, was heard by the Special Fast Track court here on Wednesday, with the prosecution opposing it.
Mahanta, the organiser of the North East India Festival, had moved for bail on April 10, a day after the Assam assembly polls.
His lawyers argued that he should be granted bail as he would cooperate with the investigations and was not a flight risk.
His counsel, Rajdeep Banerjee, appeared via video conference, while another lawyer, Pran Bora, was present in the court, and they argued that Mahanta has been in jail for more than seven months and should, therefore, be granted bail.
Special Public Prosecutor Ziaur Kamar opposed the bail plea, arguing that discrepancies exist between Mahanta's statements and the evidence, particularly related to alcohol supply to the late singer.
Kamar said the accused claimed to have sent an email stating Garg should not be given alcohol, but evidence suggests he asked an Assamese resident in Singapore to buy a bottle for the late singer.
He also argued that his seven months in jail cannot be grounds for bail.
Mahanta's lawyer further asked for permission to respond to the prosecutor's argument, upon which Justice Sharmila Bhuyan deferred the hearing to Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, the bail application of another accused and the singer's manager, Siddhartha Sharma, was kept pending as certain discrepancies were found, and the judge asked his lawyers to correct the defects and submit it by Thursday.
Mahanta's wife, Anita Deka Mahanta, speaking to the media for the first time since her husband's arrest, said they also "wanted justice as innocent people have been kept in jail."
''Innocent people are behind bars, and Shyamkanu has been in jail for the last seven months for no fault of his'', she said.
He was only trying to take Assam's culture to the global stage so that people could understand the rich traditions, she claimed.
''Zubeen Garg always considered the festival as his own and his soul will be deeply hurt to see that the person he liked and worked closely with is now in jail'', she said.
She claimed that Zubeen could not be forced to do anything and had always supported the Northeast festival.
''Zubeen was kept in Singapore's best hotel, and there was a hospital nearby. At the time of the accident, my husband was holding a meeting 50 km away'', she added.
The Gauhati High Court appointed an exclusive fast-track sessions court on March 16, and the state government provided the logistical support for setting it up.
A five-member special public prosecutors' team, headed by Kamar, had been earlier appointed by the government for the case.
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).
The state government appointed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under Assam Police's CID to probe the death, which filed a chargesheet before a local court here, naming seven accused who are now in judicial custody.
Mahanta, Sharma, the singer's two band members, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amrit Prabha Mahanta, face murder charges, while his cousin and suspended Assam Police DSP Sandipan Garg is charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Garg's two PSOs, Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya, have been charged with criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust by misappropriating funds or property entrusted to them.
