By NE NOW NEWS
Guwahati: A fast-track court on Tuesday framed charges against all seven accused in the case relating to the death of Assam’s cultural icon Zubeen Garg, paving the way for the commencement of full trial proceedings after the accused denied the charges.
The hearing was conducted before the fast-track court presided over by Judge Sharmila Bhuyan.
Speaking to reporters outside the court, Special Public Prosecutor Ziaul Kamar said the court found sufficient grounds to proceed with the case after hearing submissions from both sides.
“Today, the charges have been framed in the fast-track court against all the accused persons under Sections 3(6), 3(7) and 3(8). All the charges have been framed as per the chargesheet, which means the investigation carried out by Assam Police has been found legitimate,” he said.
Kamar said charges relating to conspiracy were framed against all the accused except Sandipan Garg.
Explaining the legal provisions invoked, he said Section 3(6) applies when a criminal act is committed by multiple persons sharing common criminal intention or knowledge.
Following the framing of charges, the accused were informed of the charges against them and asked whether they accepted or rejected them. All seven denied the charges and opted to face trial.
Kamar said no further miscellaneous hearings would take place in the matter before June 8, when trial proceedings are scheduled to begin.
After the hearing, Garima Saikia Garg said the case would now move to the witness examination stage.
“Although I hope for the procedure to complete soon, the number of witnesses listed is as many as 394. There could be instances where not all of them are called, but a certain number will be examined. We will patiently wait for the trial,” she said.
The seven accused in the case are Shyamkanu Mahanta, Siddharth Sharma, Sandipan Garg, Shekharjyoti Goswami, Amritprava Mahanta, Nandeswar Bora and Paresh Baishya.