Guwahati (Assam) [India], December 13 (ANI): Former Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congress leader Ripun Bora on Saturday said that the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee remains firm in its demand for justice for Assam’s beloved artist Zubeen Garg.
Reacting to the chargesheet filed by the SIT in the murder case of the iconic singer, Ripun Bora addressed a press conference today at Rajiv Bhawan.
At the press conference, Ripun Bora said, “If the accused in the murder of Zubeen Garg are allowed to escape due to a weak investigation and defective chargesheet, history will not forgive Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.”
Bora said that the Assam government had filed the chargesheet merely because it had to. He remarked that it would not be appropriate to give a complete reaction until the chargesheet is thoroughly examined. However, giving his immediate reaction, Bora said that two things clearly emerge from the chargesheet.
“People across Assam have been demanding justice for Zubeen Garg. To silence public outrage and to create an impression that the government is not accountable, the chargesheet has been filed. The government has submitted a chargesheet simply to escape responsibility, following a policy which, in colloquial terms, can be described as ‘killing the snake without breaking the stick’,” Bora said.
Secondly, Bora alleged that the Himanta Biswa Sarma government and the BJP have attempted to push the entire responsibility onto the court through the chargesheet. He said the government would now repeatedly claim that justice should be sought only from the court, urge Zubeen’s fans not to protest, and state that the government and the SIT have already done their duty.
“This chargesheet has been filed with the sole intention of allowing the government and the Chief Minister to say that their responsibility is over and the rest is up to the court,” Bora added.
Bora further stated that among all the sections invoked in the chargesheet, only two are significant–Section 103, which deals with murder, and Section 105. The remaining sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertain mainly to criminal conspiracy, financial transactions, and related matters.
Citing the example of the infamous Nithari killings, Bora said it was one of the most horrific crimes in India since Independence. He recalled that the accused Surinder Koli and Moninder Singh Pandher had brutally murdered 16 children, even consuming human flesh. Despite the lower court awarding the death penalty, the convictions were overturned by the Allahabad High Court and later by the Supreme Court.
“This happened because the chargesheet was weak and flawed,” Bora said, adding that courts are guided strictly by law, not by emotions, sympathy, or public sentiment.
Drawing a parallel, Bora alleged that the chargesheet in the Zubeen Garg case appears to be a casual and responsibility-shirking document. “Merely adding sections, submitting a 3,700-page chargesheet, or attaching hotel bills, airline tickets, and taxi receipts does not prove a murder case,” he said.
“Such documents only create an illusion of seriousness. What is required are concrete proofs, witnesses to substantiate the claims, and seizure of the instruments used in the crime.”
Bora pointed out that even the yacht on which Zubeen Garg had travelled has not been seized so far. “If the very object allegedly used in the crime is not seized, how will the case stand in court?” he questioned.
He also raised doubts about whether the SIT even visited the crime scene, interrogated hotel staff, the hotel manager, or all the passengers on the yacht, despite claims that a party continued throughout the night. (ANI)
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